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"';'V^ 







A DOCUMENTAHY HISTORY 



OF 



CHELSEA 



Committee of Publication 

CHARLES F. ADAMS 
CHARLES C. SMITH 
HENRY W. HAYNES 




yU^CCOlA yy4\^<t^yyViyV eyLt£lMA^ 



DOCUMENTARY HISTORY 



OP 



CHELSEA 



INCLUDING THE BOSTON PRECINCTS OF WINNISIMMET 
RUMNEY MARSH, AND PULLEN POINT 



1624-1824 



COLLECTED AND ARRANGED, WITH NOTES 
BY 

MELLEN CHAMBERLAIN 



in two volumes 
Volume 1 



BOSTON 

PRINTED FOR THE MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY 

1908 



tx 






Gift 

'9Ap'09 (^ 



THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A. 



CONTENTS 

Page 

Illustratioxs ■ ix 

Prefatory Note, by the Committee of Publication . . xi 

Memoir of Mellen Chamberlain, by Henry W. Haynes xvii 

CHAPTER I 

Introduction 1 

CHAPTER II 

The Planters at Winnisimmet 6 

Appendix. Samuel Maverick 13 

CHAPTER III 

Samuel Maverick's Palisade House 20 

Appendix 1. Maverick's Place of Residence .... 28 

Appendix 2. Early houses at Chelsea 33 

Appendix 3. Samuel Maverick and Dixy Bull ... 36 

Appendix 4. Will of Elias Maverick 38 

Appendix 5. Maverick's Descendants 42 

Appendix 6. The Brintnall Family 46 

Appendix 7. Jonathan Green 53 

Appendix 8. Dyke and Dam at Island-End River . . 55 

Appendix 9. Location of the Maverick Ferry Landing 57 

CHAPTER IV 

The Indians at Winnisimmet 60 

Appendix. Their Places of Abode 70 

CHAPTER V 

Indian Deeds 72 



Vi 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER VI 

Allotments of Land -^^gj 

Appendix 1. The Great Allotments ....'.*.* 123 

Appendix 2. Houses on the Pratt Estate . . . .' 134 

Appendix 3. Way and Ireland .' .' 13? 

Appendix 4. The Pratt Family ' .* 140 

Appendix 5. The Cheever Family ....'' 150 

Appendix 6. The Newgate Farm .' .' 165 

Appendix 7. Simeon Stoddard's Fence . . . . ' 171 

Appendix 8. Cogan and Doolittle . . . . . . .'.173 

Appendix 9. Cogan and Floyd .* 178 

Appendix 10. James Bill 193 

Appendix 11. The Tuttle Farms " ." 20-1 

Appendix 12. The Cole, Hasey, and Lewis Farms . .* 230 

Appendix 13. The Sale Farm 251 

- Appendix 14. Deane Winthrop .'26.3 

Appendix 15. Samuel Bennett's Fann 267 

Appendix 16. Maiden Owners of Land in Chelsea . . 293 

CHAPTER Yll 

Governor Bellingitam's Estates at Winnlshoiet . . 29-4 

Appendix 1. Lieutenant John Smith 319 

Appendix 2. Comparative Value of the Bellingham 

Farms 32i 

Appendix 3. Inventory of Edward "Watts and Will of 

Rebecca AVatts 323 

Appendix 4. Letters of John Tudor 334 

Appendix 5. The Watts Family 338 

Appendix 6. Henry Howell Williams 363 

Appendix 7. The Eustace Family 365 

Appendix 8. The Car\^ Family 369 

Appendix 9. Stephen Kent 374 

Appendix 10. The Sonter Family 373 

Appendix 11. Farm of Daniel Watts 387 

Appendix 12. List of Plans 39I 

CHAPTER VIII 
Governor Bellingham's Will 393 



CONTENTS Vll 



CHAPTEE IX 

Page 
Contest for the Bellingham Estates begins .... 420 

Appendix 1. Inventory of Richard Bellingham . . . 427 

Appendix 2. Suit of John Blake 429 

Appendix 3. Suits of Oxenbridge and Smith . . . 438 



CHAPTER X 

Governor Bellingham's Will before the General 

Court 441 

Appendix. Suits of Nicholas Rice 451 

CHAPTER XI 

Richard Wharton sues for his Services 464 

Appendix 1. Hammond vs. Bellingham 472 

Appendix 2. Wharton vs. Stoddard and Ranger . . 479 

Appendix 3. Wharton vs. Eustace 481 

Appendix 4. Bellingham vs. Eustace 482 

Appendix 5. Thomson vs. Eustace 489 

CHAPTER XII 

Governor Bellingham's Estate by Descent .... 495 

Appendix. The Marriage Settlement 502 

CHAPTER XIII 

The Bellingham Will Case Reopened 528 

Appendix. Appeal of Rev. James Allen 540 

CHAPTER XIV 

Suits for the Bellingham Estates Resumed .... 544 

Appendix 1. Pembroke and Hiller Suits 551 

Appendix 2. Watts and Townsend Suits 559 



Vlll CONTEXTS 



CHAPTER XV 

Page 

The Clergy of Bostox make an Address to the Gen- 
eral Court 573 



CHAPTER XVI 

A Long Truce 576 

Appendix. Letters of Joseph Hillcr and Elizabeth 

Bellingham 579 

CHAPTER XVII 

The Bellingham Will in Town Meeting 58i 

Appendix 1. Col. Thomas Goldthwait G02 

Appendix 2. Allen vs. Eustace GIO 

Appendix 3. Danforth vs. Sargent et al 614 

CHAPTER XVIII 

The End Near: Thompson sues for the Eustis Farm . G23 

Appendix. Writ of Execution 633 

CHAPTER XIX 

Captain Robert Keayne's Estate in Rumney Marsh . 635 
Appendix 1. The Chamberlain Family of Rumney 

Marsh 651 

Appendix 2. Colonel Nicholas Paige 656 

Appendix 3. The Tenants on the Farm 663 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 
Portrait of Mellen Chamberlain Frontispiece 

House of Mellen Chamberlain xix- 

Boston Harbor in 1711 1. 

Yeamans House 96 

Deane Winthrop House 121 

Pratt House 134 

Map of Winthrop and Plan of Bill Fann 193" 

Bellingham Farms 294 

Portraits of Samuel Cary and his Wife 310 

Cary House 311 

Carter House 318 

Portrait of Thomas Goldthwait 602 

Chelsea in 1739 668 



PREFATORY NOTE 

AMOISTG the papers left by Judge Cliamberlain is one 
headed " Memoranda for a Preface," at the beginning 
of which he says, " These Memoranda, written at different 
times, doubtless contain much irrelevant and repetitious matter, 
and will require careful revision." He then unfolds his well- 
known views as to the genesis of the Massachusetts town, end- 
ing with the suggestion, " Perhaps the greater part of the 
foregoing, instead of belonging to the Preface, would with 
some modification more properly form part of the Introductory 
Chapter." As the views thus presented are much more clearly 
and forcefully stated by him in two papers printed in the 
Proceedings of the Historical Society,^ it has not seemed de- 
sirable to reproduce them here. Of much greater interest and 
value is the account which he gives of the circumstances that 
led him to undertake the preparation of a History of Chelsea 
and of the method pursued by him. " In 1876," he says, 
" the City Council of Chelsea asked me to prejoare a history 
of the municipality, as other towns were doing, as a centennial- 
memorial. ... I was then heavily weighted by public duties 
w^hich left little time for other work, and I was not inclined 
to accept the invitation ; but as one long resident in the city, 
with some participation in its municipal affairs, and often a 
recipient of its honors, I could not refuse without the most 
cogent reason. . . . Accordingly I looked into the books most 
likely to contain the results of previous investigations, and 
found a few pages. I asked at the City Hall for the old tovra 
files ; there was not a scrap. With like result I sought his- 
torical papers in the old garrets in Revere; but the oldest 
inhabitant could not suggest new fields of investigation. T 
knew that for the first hundred years the territory wliich was 
incorporated as Chelsea w^as merely an outlying precinct of 

^ "Tlie New Historical School," in 2 Proceedings, v. 2G5-278; "The 
Genesis of the Massachusetts Town," ibid., vii. 214-242. 



Xll PREFATORY NOTE 

Boston, without municipal life of its own; and that for the 
second hundred years, as well as for the first, its largest pro- 
prietors were mainly non-residents whose genealogies would 
not be required. These circumstances were not promising for 
the production of a work of value or interest; but, lessening 
as they did the prospective labor of Avriting a History of 
Chelsea, they made a refusal to undertake it more difficult. 
Under these circumstances I undertook the work, and seldom 
have I made a more serious mistake. For though with small 
expectations, yet as something proper to be done, I began an 
examination of the archives at the State House, and had not 
proceeded far before discovering material which compelled 
me to search page by page the two hundred volumes of State 
Papers, as well as the Boston To\^ti Records, not then printed, 
the records of the Suffolk Courts, the Registry of Deeds, and 
the Probate Office. The results amazed me, not only by the 
mass and value of the materials which I found, but even more 
by the fact that I had committed myself to a work requiring 
years for its completion. 

" Not only new materials, but new subjects for Chelsea his- 
tory, were discovered. No one had ever supposed that the 
first settlement in the upper bay was made at Winnisimmet, 
instead of Noddle's Island, and that it was there that Samuel 
Maverick palisaded his house in 1625. Bnt when I learned 
this it made necessary a reconsideration of the mooted ques- 
tion of the first settlement of Boston harbor. 

" The learned editors of Sewall's diary, warranted by the 
record, had said that Governor Bellingham's will, in which 
he devised his estates at Winnisimmet for pious uses, was set 
aside by the General Court in 1676 ; but this proceeding, far 
from being the end, was near the beginning of a contest which 
raged for one hundred and fourteen years, and was finally 
settled in 1787, before Judge Increase Sumner, whose notes, 
rescued from a paper mill, gave the only clue then discovered 
to the history of a case which was the subject of an opinion 
by William Cowper, afterward Lord Chancellor of England, 
and of a decision of Sir Nathan Wright, Lord Keeper of the 
Great Seal. 

" At Winnisimmet was the northerly terminus of the first 
ferry from Boston, and the beginning of the first county road 
in Massachusetts, and perhaps both were the first on the west- 



PREFATORY NOTE Xlll 

ern continent. These facts give distinction to Winnisimmet, 
and made it imperative to trace their history. 

" From the Winnisinunet shores of Chelsea Creek, in May, 
1775, British and American parties met in conflict in an 
attempt by order of General Ward to remove the live stock 
from Hog and Noddle's islands. This was the second mili- 
tary engagement at the opening of the Revolutionary War. 
From Winnisimmet was observed in flank the movements of 
the British at Bunker Hill, and during the siege of Boston sev- 
eral companies had barracks there. 

" Finally, the records of the Rumney Marsh church during 
the very able pastorates of Thomas Cheever, Phillips Payson, 
and Joseph Tuckerman are of more than ordinary value, and 
these I have thought it best to present in their most authentic 
form. 

" Much of this material, though not all, I had collected in 
the intervals of official duties, and for its preservation I printed 
it in the weekly issues of the Chelsea ' Telegraph and Pioneer,' 
the first of the articles appearing I^ov. 20, 1880, and the 
eighty-first and last July 14, 1883. At first my embarrass- 
ment was in the meagreness of material, which led me to print 
in full every document I found. But when the mass of these, 
by frequent additions (which have not yet ceased), became 
embarrassing a new question arose, how to treat these docu- 
ments. ... I have finally decided to print in full every im- 
portant paper, and to call the result ' A Docmnentary History 
of Chelsea, with Notes,' and have followed this course in 
respect even to the voluminous documents of the Bellingham 
will case. W^ith some experience as a reporter of legal de- 
cisions, I reduced several of the cases to the form in which 
they usually appear in the volumes of Judicial Reports when 
all matters not essential to the legal understanding of the case 
are omitted. This is doubtless best for the bar, — indeed, it 
is the only practicable course ; but for those who desire to 
trace the crude and tentative progress of jurisprudence in 
Massachusetts, nothing could be more worthless. Besides, the 
merely formal parts of documents — the recitals, the descrip- 
tions of persons, and the names of witnesses — often give facts 
of great value not always conveniently preserved in foot- 
notes. Again, the plan I have adopted treats for the first 
time, and is not likely to be repeated, the course of judicial 



XIV PREFATORY NOTE 

proceedings in a series of important cases in the Massachu- 
setts Courts, of the Colony, Province, and Commonwealth. It 
is true that the records are incomplete. Some things needed 
to complete them still elude the most thorough search; but 
it is to be hoped that many will yet come to light from the 
least probable sources. . . . 

" With these views of the requirements of a town history — 
at least, the history of Chelsea — I had, in 1892, so far com- 
pleted my work, as I thought, that I informed the Council and 
requested that the publication should be begun, having little 
doubt of my ability to keep in advance of the press until the 
work should be finished; but while the City Council was con- 
sidering the matter the greater part of the old toAvni files, with 
many papers of the Bellingham will cases, which had long 
been sought for in vain, were unexpectedly found in a house 
remote from Chelsea in which they had lain for more than a 
hundred years, having be«n carried thither by a former town 
clerk on his removal to that place. He was also executor of 
one of those who succeeded to the Bellingham estates. At first 
I hoped that I might be able to introduce this new matter into 
the text, or add it as notes, and thus avoid rewTiting the work ; 
but this was found to be impracticable, and now (November, 
1897) I am still reconstructing and rewriting the greater part 
of it. As I may not live to complete this History, I leave 
these memoranda ^ of my connection with a work which has 
taken more time than I anticipated, and prevented my under- 
taking more than one book much more to my taste. But on 
the whole, perhaps, I ought to regret neither the time nor the 
labor I have bestowed on it, even though I may not live to 
complete it, since the history of Chelsea presents some facts 
of unusual interest, which are not likely to have been dis- 

' As bearing on these " memoranda," the following extract from the 
will of Judge Chamberlain is explicit: — 

" To the Massachusetts Historical Society I give my incompleted manu- 
script (typewritten) history of Chelsea with the ten bound folio volumes 
of manuscripts, plans, engravings, photographs and materials used in the 
preparation of said history and may be useful in its completion, with the 
copyright of said history, and the profits from the sale thereof. I hope to 
communicate to said society in a separate paper my views in respect to 
the completion of said history; but lest I fail to do so, I will say here 
that I wish to have the manuscript placed in the hands of a thorouglily 
competent person for completion and revision, to whom I give the largest 
discretion in respect to omissions, condensation, changes and additions." 



PREFATORY NOTE XV 

covered bj any one without my opportunities, some of which 
have been purely accidentaL . . . 

" It was not my original intention to bring the History down 
to a later period than that of the organization of the Win- 
nisimmet Co., say about 1833, leaving the history of the 
town after North Chelsea was set off and the history of the 
city after its incorporation to another. And I should have 
treated the history of Winthrop more fully, if I had not hoped 
that this would be undertaken as a separate work by another 
hand. . . . 

" Documents purporting to be complete in all cases follow 
their originals where I have had access to them, but in many 
cases they exist only in copies made by those who followed the 
orthography, punctuation, and abbreviations peculiar to their 
own times. Town and Church records, so far as I give them, 
are exact copies, with these exceptions that from the latter I 
have omitted baptisms and deaths, which are given in the 
Appendix, and from both I- have omitted the words ' It was 
voted,' and connected the sentences by semicolons." ^ 

The circumstances under which Judge Chamberlain's manu- 
script was bequeathed to the Historical Society, and its pub- 
lication undertaken, are fully stated in the Memoir of him 
in this volume. 

In the preparation of the copy for the press the first twenty- 
seven chapters and the lists of towTi officers and inscriptions 
in the burying-gTOund, as well as Sections VI. and VII. in the 
General Appendix, were assigned to Miss Jenny C. Watts, a 
graduate of Radcliffe College; and the remaining chapters 
and the other parts of the General Appendix to Mr. William 
R. Cutter, librarian of the Woburn Public Library, and author 
of a History of Arlington. Matter added by either of them 
is enclosed in brackets; but, in accordance with the manifest 
desire of the author, as set forth in his will and his instruc- 
tions to the Society, the committee of the Society to which the 
material was entrusted has exercised a much wider latitude 
both of investigation and development of the subject matter 

s In printing these extracts from Judge Chamberlain's rough draught or 
" Memoranda for a Preface," the Committee have made such omissions and 
such verbal corrections as they believe he -would himself have made in a 
final revision, but they have preserved its statements and opinions as he 
left them. 



XVI PREFATORY NOTE 

in the case of the earlier than of the later period dealt with. 
This course was dictated by considerations too obvious to call 
for any detailed statement or explanation, and the wide dis- 
cretion explicitly left with the Society by Judge Chamberlain 
makes unnecessary any justification of the course thus pur- 
sued. The Index has been prepared by Rev. T. Frank Waters, 
of Ipswich, author of " Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay 
Colony." 

It cannot be doubted that if Judge Chamberlain's health 
and strength had permitted him to make a final revision of 
his manuscript, his History of Chelsea would have approached 
much more nearly to the high ideal which he set before him- 
self; but it is not believed that he would have essentially 
modified his opinions, or changed his statement of fact except 
in so far as they would necessarily have been affected by the 
coming to light of documents supposed to have been lost or 
the discovery of new historical material. 

Charles F. Adams. 
Chaeles C. Smith. 
Henry W. Haynes. 



MEMOm 

OF 

MELLEN CHAMBERLAIN. 

BY HENRY W. HAYNES.^ 



Mellen Chamberlain was born in Pembroke, New Hamp- 
shire, June 4, 1821, tlie second of the five children of Moses 
and Mary (Foster) Chamberhiin. The earliest known ances- 
tor of the family was Jacob Chamberlain, born about 1690, 
according to the inscription upon his gravestone in Runiney 
Marsh (now Revere), Massachusetts, where he died in 1734. 
He married, in 1714, Abigail, daughter of William Hasey, of 
Rumney Marsh. Mary Foster was the daughter of Rev. 
Abiel Foster, of Canterbury, New Hampshire, a descendant 
of John Rogers, the fifth President of Harvard College, and of 
Governor Thomas Dudley. Moses Chambeilain was a farmer, 
who also carried on the business of a country shopkeeper. 
The son helped his father in both occupations, attending the 
district schools of the town, and later the Academy in Pem- 
broke, until his fifteenth year, Avhen the family removed to 
Concord, New Hampshire, in 1836. For the next four years 
he pursued the studies preparatory for college at the Literary 
Institute of that place, continuing to assist his father and 
teaching district schools in the winter. In 1840 he entered 
Dartmouth College, and graduated, in 1844, with a class in 
which were included an unusual number of men who after- 
wards attained distinction. During his college course he 
taught school three winters in Danvers, Massachusetts. His 
college rank was sufiiciently high for him to be chosen into 
the Phi Beta Kappa Chapter of the college. All his life long 
he looked back with gratitude to his Dartmouth training, and 
ever cherished a warm affection for his classmates, which 
was fully reciprocated by them. His college on its part 

1 Keprintefl from tlie Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 2d 
Series, vol. xx. pp. 119-146. 



XVI 11 MEMOIR OF :\rELLEN CHAMBERLAIN 

rfigarded liim as a worthy son, and bestowed upon him the 
honorary degiee of Doctor of Laws in 1885 ; and his fellow 
alumni twice called upon him to he their spokesman in 
expressiiiix their admiration for Dartmouth's greatest son, 
Daniel Webster, — at a dinner in 1882, and at the dedication 
of Iiis statue in 1886. In May, 1844, a little before Ijis 
graduation, Mr. Chambeilain was chosen principal of the higli 
school at Brattleborough, Vermont, and there he remained 
until late in 1846. In an "Address at the Dedication of the 
Brooks Library Building, at Brattleborough, Vermont, Janu- 
ary 25, 1887," he gives a charming account of his life as a 
teacher, and of the town and its society, which at that time 
included a notable number of cultivated citizens and summer 
visitors of distinction, especially drawn thither by the estab- 
lishment of one of the earliest "Water Cures" in this country. 
From Brattleborough he entered the Dane Law School at 
Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the late autumn of 1846. He 
was soon made the Librarian, and remained there for two 
years, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1848. He 
himself says that this "situation brought him into official 
relations to the college, and afforded him social piivileges, 
v/liich otherwise he could not have had." Among the most 
valued of these he regarded the opportunity of passing some 
months in the capacity of private tutor in the family of Chan- 
cellor Kent at Kent Place, Summit, New Jersey. In January, 
1849, he was admitted to the bar in Boston, and opened a law 
office on Washington Street, which he shared with the late 
John S. Holmes. Later he removed to No. 35 Couit Street, 
wliere the late Seth Webb was his office companion, and after 
Webb the present writer shared the office with him from 1856 
to 1867. On June 6, 1849, he was married to Martha Ann, 
daughter of Colonel Jesse Putnam, of Danvers, Massachu- 
setts, whose acquaintance he had made during his terms of 
school teachinir in that town, in his colleq-e course. In a let- 
ter to his fatlier, written from the Law School at Cambridge, 
October 3, 1848, he says: — 

" I intended to have entered my profession about this time, but the 
retirement of the oM professors brought on new ones, who km-w 
nothing of the affairs of the scliool, and tliey insisted upon my staying 
this; term, wliich I as^ieed to do for three hundred dollars extra. . . . 
On the first of January I shall have seven hundred and tliirtv dollars 










N 



MEMOIR OF MELLEX CHAMBERLAIN xix 

in pocket. If there is any such thing as luck in the world, I have hail 
it. True, I have worked like a dog and lived like a miser. ... I liave 
arranged to get married, and suppose that my money will carry us to 
January, 1850, when the purse will be empty. At twenty-eight one 
may get married, and it becomes a matter of necessity, when one has 
lived so long alone as I have. But notwithstanding the apparent rasli- 
ness of this step I have no fear. My life will be insured, so that in 
case I should be taken away, Martha will not be left destitute, and 
that's all I care about. But I will not anticipate that. Ten years 
unassisted toil have given me strength and power to do and to dare. 
You will gather from what I write that I am in excellent spirits ; 
I am so." 

His anticipations were fully realized ; his marriage bronglit 
him at once into a large and agieeable family circle, and his 
professional earnings proved sufficient for their modest wants. 
He soon began to secure a considerable office business, to 
which was added a fair share of court practice, and he also 
reported court business for the "Boston Advertiser." But his 
main occupation was that of a conveyancer. Two or three 
large farms in Chelsea began to be cut up for building pur- 
poses about this time, and the Winnisimmet Land Company 
concluded to sell all of its extensive holdings. Mr. Ciiam- 
berlain began a thorough study of the titles to all the real 
estate in Chelsea, and his knowledge became so extensive tliat 
liardly a land title could be passed in that community without 
consulting him. The results of his investigations were con- 
signed to twelve lai'ge folio volumes, which by his last will 
were bequeathed to the city of Chelsea and have been placed 
in its Public Libi'ary. 

Immediately upon their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlain 
went to live in Chelsea. After several changes of residence 
he built a comfortable house, pleasantly situated on Washing- 
ton Avenue, upon the western slope of Powderhorn Hill, 
with ample grounds in the rear in which to cultivate fruits 
and flowers. There he passed the remainder of his life. iNIrs. 
Cliamberlain died suddenly, April 25, 1887, leaving no chil- 
dren. 'I'heir union was a signally happy one, and from her 
loss he never recovered. Their home was the centre of much 
intellectual life, at whicli for many 3^ears gathered weeklj^ a 
class of young people of both sexes for the study, under iiis 
guidance, of English and American literature. In his later 



XX MEMOIR OF MELLEX CHAMBERLAIN 

3-e{irs Mr. Chamberlain was in the liabit of passing a portion f)f 
every summer at Boar's Head, Hampton Beacli, where he was 
accustomed to meet a congenial company' of friends, of whom 
the late Governor and Mrs. Charles H. Bell, of New Hamp- 
shire, and our associate member Rev. Dr. Slafter, were among 
his most intimate companions. 

Soon after his establishment in Chelsea Mr. Chamberlain 
began to be called upon b}- his fellow citizens for various sorts 
of public service, as school committee man, selectman, alder- 
man, on the organization of the city, in 1857, and for six years 
as City Solicitor. In 1858-1859 he was chosen a Representa- 
tive to the General Court from the Thirteenth Suffolk District, 
and was made a member of the special committee on the Re- 
vision of the Statutes. In 1863-1804 he was elected to the 
State Senate, and during the latter year was the chairman of 
tiie Judiciary Committee. Those who served with him in tlie 
legislature were accustomed to speak of his public services as 
of great value, and to esteem his powers as a debater as of a 
high order. He was an excellent public speaker, logical and 
impressive, while his remarkable memory readily supplied 
him with an abundance of illustrations to enforce and enliven 
his argumelits, and his tall and erect figure, his dignified 
bearing, and his strong and commanding countenance lent 
additional energy to his words. 

On June 29, 1866, he was appointed by Governor Bullock 
an Associate Justige of the newly created Municipal Court of 
the City of Boston. Mr. George B. Chase, in a most sym- 
])athetic tribute to his memory before this Society,^ has given 
an amusing account of the circumstances of this appointment. 
From June, 1866, to Deceral)er, 1870, he served as Associate 
Justice, and then was appointed by Governor Claflin Chief 
Justice, whicli. office he continued to hold till August, 1878. 
His services on the bench thus cover a pei'iod of twelve 
years. Mr. Chase has also quoted the opinion of one of his 
associates, the late Chief Justice Parmenter, as to his special 
qualifications for the office, and the method and quality of his 
work in it. 

In the summer of 1875 Judge Chamberlain made a visit of 
six months to Europe, where his taste for art, scenery, his- 

1 2 Proceedings, vol. xiv. p. 273. 



MEMOIR OF MELLEN CHAMBERLAIN xxi 

tory, and literature was ampl}'' gratified. His letters home 
were exceedingly entertaining. Several of them appeared iu 
tlie Boston newspapers, and attracted more than usual atten- 
tion. In England and Ireland lie took every opportunity to visit 
the courts, and always received a most polite welcome. 

In August, 1878, Judge Chamberlain was called to be the 
Librarian of the Boston Public Library, succeeding our late 
associate Justin Winsor. This position he continued to hold 
until October, 1890, when he resigned on account of failing 
health, after another twelve years' terra of faithful service. The 
circumstances of this appointment are aniusingly told by Mr. 
Chase in an account of his interview with our late associate 
Mr. William W. Greenough, for so many years the President 
of the Board of Trustees of the Library. His first report as 
Librarian 1 shows how strenuously he took hold of his new 
duties, and what fresh measures he suggested, most of which 
have become a part of the permanent administration of the 
Librarj^ Among these were the apporntment of a night 
watchman to insure protection against fire, and the installa- 
tion of a self-registering clock to make certain his actual 
presence ; a thorough examination of the Library to discover 
its most important deficiencies, mainly incomplete sets of 
periodicals, serials, and continued works, and a pei-manent 
arrangement by which these could be gradually secured; and 
the employment of a bookbinder to take down each volume 
from the shelves, dust it, and make any needed repairs to the 
binding ; by this measure the annual closing of the Library for 
cleaning purposes could be dispensed with. But his most im- 
portant suggestion was for a conference with the Superin- 
tendent of Public Schools, our late associate Dr. Samuel 
Eliot, and a committee of the masters of the schools to devise 
some system whereby in his own words " the best literature 
of the Public Library shall find its way into the public schools 
. . . and become an instrument in the hands of the public 
teacher of imparting knowledge at the public expense to those 
whom the city is under legal obligations to educate." He 
also makes the recommendation that " a course of lectures be 
established . . . designed to induce the critical and apprecia- 
tive reading of the best things in literature by those who 

1 Tvventy-seventli Annual Report of the Trustees of the Public Library, 1S79, 
p. 17. 



xxil MEMOIR OF MELLEN CHAMBERLAIN 

miglit rej)air to tliein for instruction, as there always is in 
every connn unity a considerable number of persons who would 
ghidly avail themselves of such opportunities." It has taken 
some time to realize, but we all now perceive what substantial 
fruit this wise and far-seeing suggestion was destined to pro- 
duce in these later years. In his annual report of the follow- 
ing year^ he says : — 

" In my aniiiial report of last year I suggested to the Trustees the 
propriety of setting apart some portion of the annual appropriation for 
books to meet the requisitions of the teachers of the public schools by 
the purcliase of such books as in their judgment might be u.'^eful to their 
pupils, and those to have their local habitation in the several houses 
under their charge, but always to remain the property of the Public 
Library. . . . Some difficulties arose with respect to these requests. 
In tlie first place theie were no more than two or three copies, instead 
of fifty, of each iu the Library, and no funds from which they could 
properly be purchased ; and secondly, the nature of the loans and the 
time for wliich they were desired were in contravention of the Library 
rules." 

Eventually the books were purchased from funds supplied 
from a private source, presented to the Library and accepted 
by the Trustees, upon the condition that they should be 
loaned according to the v/ishcs of the donor. After a year's 
use in one of the schools tliey were returned in good order to 
fulfil similar requisitions for other schools. The reading of 
these books was not a part of the regular school exercises ; 
each pupil was expected to read his copy at home, as he 
Avould read any other books taken from the Public Library, 
but to be examined once a week upon what was thus read. 
The cost of the experiment for a year was less tlian fifty dol- 
lars. Thus was taken the first step in the important work of 
supplying "supplementary reading matter" to the schools 
i'rom the Public Library. Another improvement suggested 
was to have imi)ortant new English publications forwarded 
promptly by mail for the use of the patrons of the Libraiy, 
instead of waiting to have them sent in the usual slow 
course of i)urchases b}' the foreign agents of the Library. He 
also introduced a method of covering with linen canvas the 
heavy, costly volumes, that were subjected to great weai' and 

1 Report, 1880, p. 19. 



MEMOIR OF MELLEN CHAMBERLAIN XXlll 

tear in their use, and this style of binding has been substan- 
tiall}^ adopted for the greater portion of the books newly 
added to the Library, and of the older volumes as their 
binding wears out. 

Such were some of the new ideas introduced into the man- 
agement of the institution by the new Librarian. Though it 
cannot be claimed tiiat he developed remarkable executive 
ability in this office, he certainly made a satisfactory officer in 
all of his relations with the public; and he won the respect 
and affection of all its employees, from the highest to the 
lowest. The opinion of his services held by the Trustees, of 
whom the writer was one during nearly the whole of his term 
of office, is manifested by the tenor of the resolutions adopted 
by them on accepting his resignation : — 

" Whereas, Hon. Mellen Chamberlain has been constr9,ined by the 
impaired condition of his health to resign the office of Librarian of 
the Public Library, and the Trustees have reluctantly accepted his 
resignation, to take effect on the First day of October next. 

Voted, That the Trustees hereby place upon their records the expres- 
sion of their regret for the loss which the Library must sustain in no 
longer benefiting by the services of so accomplished and so faitliful a 
scholar as Judge Chamberlain has shown himself to be during his 
twelve years of service. 

Voted, That the special attainments of the Librarian in the study 
of early American history have proved of essential advantage to the 
Library in bringing up that department to the high standing that had 
already been readied in other branches of knowledge. 

Voted, Tiiat the Trustees hereby convey to Judge Chamberlain the 
expression of their respect and regard, their regrets that their pleasant 
intimaj:e relations must cease ; their hope that his enforced leisure may 
result in restored health, and their wish that his life may long be spared 
to give to the world from his stores of knowledge." 

The antiquarian tastes of Judge Chamberlain were devel- 
oped in his early youth, and were fostered after his removal to 
Concord, New Hampshire, in 1836, by his intimacy with John 
Farmer, the archivist of the State of New Hampshire, whom 
he assisted in some of his historical and genealogical investi- 
gations. He began at that time to gather his remarkable col- 
lection of autographs, to which he afterwards added such 
letters, documents, and other manuscript material, portraits, 
and engravings, as he could obtain by exchange with other 



xxiv MEMOIR OF MELLEN CHAMBERLAIN 

collectors, and by purchase as his income increased. He was 
an indel'aLigable searcher of old garrets and all out-of-the- 
way repositories of letters and other papers, making repeated 
journeys throughout New England for that purpose, and 
numbered among his correspondents, with whom he made con- 
stant exchanges, all the prominent collectors of this country; 
among whom were his boyhood friend, Dr. George H. Moore, 
of the Lenox Librar}^ in New York, Dr. Sprague, of Albany, 
Mr. Taft, of Savannah, and Mr. Gilmore, of Baltimore ; from 
the latter he obtained Southern autographs and documents. 
Personally, or by order, he attended all the autograph sales 
in this country, and through dealers' catalogues added to his 
stores by puvchase from England, Fjance, and Germany. Thus 
his collection gradually grew to be of incalcula])le value, and 
it became a matter of great anxiety with him to decide what 
to do with it. To prevent the possibility of its ultimate dis- 
persal, if left to his heirs, he concluded to provide by his last 
will that it should become the property of the Boston Public 
Library. In 1893, seven years before iiis^ death, he made an 
arrangement with the Trustees that it should be deposited in 
a room to be specially prepared for it in the new Library build- 
ing and set apart as its permanent home, though he retained 
his property in it during his lifetime. It will hardly be neces- 
sary to attempt to give here an account of its treasures, as 
the Trustees published, in 1897, " A Brief Description of the 
Chamberlain Collection of Autographs, now deposited in the 
Public Library of the City of Boston." This was based in 
part upon an elaborate article, contril)uted by the late Rev. 
Julius H. Ward, to the "Boston Sunday Herald," of April 7, 
1895, from memoranda furnished by Judge Chamberlain him- 
self. To this publication the Trustees added, in 1898, a sup- 
plement containing '" The Texts of the Four Great Documents," 
reprints of " The Address to the King, 1774," the " Declara- 
tion of Independence (1776)," the " Articles of Confedera- 
tion (1777)," and the " Constitution of the United States 
(1787)." To these texts are affixed the autographs of the 
respective signers. These four texts have been removed from 
tiie rest of the collection, and with a series of sixty-three 
framed tablets, made up also of detached autograph signatures, 
grouped and illustrated by portraits, biographical sketches, 
and historical notes, are now displayed upon the walls of the 



MEMOIR OF MELLEN CHAMBERLAIN xxv 

room for Younger Readers. These two pamphlets, liowever, 
lire intended only to be preliminary to a complete description 
and analysis of the whole collection, now in course of prepa- 
ration ; they are sufficient, however, to indicate that The 
Chamberlain Collection of Autographs and Manuscripts will 
eventually prove one of the richest sources of information 
available for the students of American History, a worthy 
monument to the memory of its creator. 

A very interesting example of Judge Chamberlain's skill 
and judicial temperament in the investigation of questions 
beaiing upon the genuineness of autograph signatures can be 
found in a note, appended to the " Bulletin of the Boston 
Public Library, No. 79, May, 1889," upon an " Autograph 
which may be Shakespeare's." In 1880 a copy of North's 
Plutarch, 1603, had been purcliased by the Library, which, 
though complete and in the original binding, was in bad con- 
dition and was consequently sent to the binderj- for repairs. 
There was found to be a fold of parchment, about two indies 
wide, running the entire length of the hinge of the covei\ 
a strip of paper of tlie same width and length, together with 
two or more shorter strips, on one of which at the beginning 
of the volume were written tiie words " William Shal^espeare, 
hundred and twenty poundes." The paper bearing the name 
of Shakespeare is a fold, organically a part of the volume 
wJien it was purchased, as appeared by the sewing, but at 
what time the name was written on it is the important ques- 
tion. The strips of paper at the end of the volume also con- 
tained some writing, a couple of Latin quotations which must 
have been there when the volume was originally bound. All 
of these writings, including that containing the name of 
Shakespeare, though not in the same ink, are in the ink and 
handwriting of the seventeenth century, and probably were 
concealed from view until the linings of the inside covers 
became detached. There was also a worm- hole, running 
through the parchment, the title-page, and three hundred 
and ten pages of the text. This hole pierced between the 
words "and" and " twenty," in the Shakespeare writing, and 
it must have been bored after the writing was made, as other- 
wise the pen would have caught upon its edges, wdiicli plainly 
did not happen. Judge Chamberlain proceeds to discuss the 
question whether it is an autograph writing, and whether it 



XXVI MEMOIR OF MELLEN CHAMBERLAIN 

is ill the liandwriting of Shakespeare, at considerable length 
and with great acuteness. Quoting the opinion of three ex- 
perts, colleciors of autographs of long experience, he concluded 
that the writing is an original signature, not a man's name 
written by another, or an imitation. He insists that the writ- 
ing bears a strong resemblance to the known genuine signa- 
tures of Shakespeare, and discusses the possibility of its being 
a forgery ; deciding against its being such, and laying stress 
upon his familiarity with the history of historical, literary, and 
autograph forgeries in England and America. His conclusion 
is that " the Librar}' autograph presents more reasons in favor 
of its genuineness and too few objections to warrant an ad- 
verse judgment." Eight process plates are appended to the 
article showing the title-page, with the paper fold at the hinge 
containing the worm-hole, also the same turned back ui)on the 
cover, the hinge at the end of the volume, with the strips of 
parchment and paper bearing writing, ami the same with the 
strip turned down disclosing writing otherwise concealed ; 
there are also added four pages of facsimiles of Shakespeare's 
autographs, together with enlargements of the same and also 
of the Ireland foi'geries and of the Library signature. 

Judge Chamberlain was elected into the Massachusetts 
Historical Society January 9, 1873, and immediately began 
to take a prominent part in its proceedings. He delighted 
in his membership, and was most assiduous in his attendance 
at the meetings. To its published volumes he made numer- 
ous valuable and interesting contriljutions, while in the dis- 
cussions that arose he was ever ready to draw upon his stores 
of knowledge with a fulness and accuracy of memory truly 
remarkable. He served frequently upon the committees, 
from 1885 to 1888 was a member of the Executive Committee 
of the Council, and presented the ainiual report in 1888. 
The notes contributed by him as one of tiie editors of Sewall's 
Letter-Book, 1886-1888, are marked by his usual thorough- 
ness and accui'acy. He was also one of the members of the 
Committee to publish a volume of Belcher Papers, in 1892, 
and in 1894 was made one of the Publication Committee of 
the Bowdoin and Temple Papers. 

Since his contributions to the successive volumes of our 
Proceedings form a substantial portion of his published work 
and are of great variety and of exceptional value, it seems 



MEMOIR OF MELLEN CHAMBERLAIN xxvii 

advisable to give a complete list of them, with the volumes 
in which they can be found, in order to facilitate ready refer- 
ence to them. His first paper was a " Sketch of the Life of 
Rev. Samuel Henly " (Vol. XV. p. 230). Next appeared a 
study of "The Currency Question in Provincial Times " (Vol. 
XX. p. 32); and in tiie same volume (p. 223), a discussion 
of " Tlie Charges against Samuel Adams." 

In the first volume of the second series (p. 211) he gave 
an account of the remarkable very early "Map of Eastern 
Massachusetts," discovered by our associate Mr. Henry F. 
AVaters, in the Sloane Collection of the British Museum, and 
published by the Trustees of the Boston Public Library in the 
Bulletin for October, 1884, from which it was reproduced in 
Winsor's "Narrative and Critical History of America" (Vol. 
HL p. 381). In the same volume of our Proceedings (p. 273) 
appeared a notable paper on " The Authentication of the 
Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776," in which, after a 
thorough study of the original records and of all tlie available 
evidence, he proves that the signing did not take place upon 
the Fourth of July. He suggests that the Declaration should 
have been preceded by some such recital as the following : 
"The foi'egoing Declaration having been agreed to on July 4th 
by the delegates of the thirteen united Colonies, and the same 
having been engrossed, is now subscribed, agreeably to a Reso- 
lution passed July 19th, by the Members of Congress present 
this 2nd day of August, 1776." On page 266 of the same 
volume he showed that "Samuel Maverick's House" was not 
built on Noddle's Island, East Boston, some time before 1628, 
as stated by Edward Johnson in his " Wonder-working Provi- 
dence," but was erected in 1625, — as he himself states in 
the valuable manuscript, " A Brief Description of New Eng- 
land, etc.," discovered by Mr. Waters in the British Museum 
and printed on page 236 of the same volume of our Pjo- 
ceedings, — and was built in " Winnisime," upon land now 
in the grounds of the United States Marine Hospital in 
Chelsea. 

In Vol. II. 2d ser. p. 122, he told of an interesting episode 
in the history of " The Old Piovince House," which had 
escajjed the notice of local antiquaries : its occupation by 
the Earl of Belloraont, when Governor, for fourteen months, 
from the latter part of May, 1699. On pages 275-305 of the 



xx.iu MEMOIR OF MELLEN CIIA^IBERLAIN 

same volume he printed a Journal of Captain Henry Dearborn 
on "Arnold's Expedition to Quebec." 

For the next volume (Vol. III. 2d ser. pp. 102-133), he 
contributed three other "Journals of Captain Henry Dear- 
born," belonging to the Boston Public Library and covering 
the period from July 25, 1776, to March 1, 1783. On page 
371 he called attention to the new edition of the " Massachu- 
setts Colonial Laws," in the Revision of 1672, published under 
the editorial supervision of our late associate Mr. William H. 
Wliitmore, and he has no doubt that this will stimulate, and 
go very far to answer, inquiry on a great man}'' subjects of 
historical interest. Among matters instanced was the fact 
that tlie General Court of Massacliusetts had passed laws 
going far beyond the Acts of Parliament that were supposed 
to give validity to Writs of Assistance in the Colonies, wliich 
were so giievous to our ancestors a hundred years later. So, 
too, the requirement that revenue cases should be tried in 
Admiralty, which caused much dissatisfaction when enacted 
by Parliament, was in substance tlie Massachusetts law of 
1674. Also we find, among other invasions of the King's 
prerogative, that the Colonists apparently claimed tlie right 
to grant and annul patents. 

In Vol. IV. 2d ser. p. 48, Judge Chamberlain gave an 
account of the efforts of Samuel Adams to safeguard " New 
England Fisheries" in the negotiations for peace with Great 
Britain, as proved by the original draft of documents in 
Adams's handwriting in his own possession. On page 82 
of the same volume he printed the first eight pages of the 
" Journal of the Committee of Correspondence " of Massa- 
chusetts, with the other Colonies, in 1773, from the original 
in the possession of the Boston Public Library. 

To Vol. V. 2d ser. p. 265, he contributed a paper on "The 
New Historical School," devoted principally to criticism of 
tlie late Professor Alexander Johnston's " History of Con- 
necticut." As a disciple of Edward A. Freeman, Professor 
Johnston had propounded the theory that Connecticut towns 
came originally from the forests of Germany to Enghind, and 
from England to Massachusetts Bay, whence three of them 
(Watertown, Newton, and Dorchester) migrated to Connec- 
ticut as organizations, and there, in 1669, set up a common- 
wealth as the result of tlieir joint corporate action; that these 



MEMOIR OF MELLEN CHAMBERLAIN xxix 

towns having created a commonwealth, became a pattern for 
towns in other commonwealths; and so happily had their sys- 
tem of confederated towns worked, and especially in relation 
to the commonwealth, that the Connecticut delegation in 
the Convention of 1787 Avas able to persuade that body to 
form the Constitution of the United States on the same basis, 
— the Senate with its equal and unalterable representation of 
sovereign States answering to tlie independent Connecticut 
towns, and the House of Representatives answering to the 
Connecticut Council, both being elected by popular vote. 
To this reasoning Judge Chamberlain replies that the fallacy 
of this scheme lies in its theory respecting towns : their 
existence independent of some sovereign power, and in call- 
ing the towns the political cell from which the common- 
wealth was evolved. A town can be the germ of nothing 
but a greater town, never of a commonwealth. The rights 
and duties of towns are communal, and for such rights 
and duties they may provide; but even these powers are 
delegated, not inherent. The rights and duties of the State 
primarily concern sovereignty, external relations, and general 
laws affecting the inhabitants of all the State. He then 
proceeds to state his own views of the question : that our 
Enoiish ancestors did not brino- with them Ensrlish towns or 
English churches or British institutions ; but as occasion 
required they builded for themselves, as Englishmen always 
and everywhere liad done and still do. Analogies do not con- 
stitute identities, instincts are not institutions; nor does simi- 
larity of design or adaptation of institutions indicate heredity, 
or even relationship. .'"The genesis of American Common- 
wealths," according to his view, "is historically clear: (1) 
They originated with mere adventurers for fishing, hunting, 
or trading, who, without territorial ownership or by state 
authority, established themselves on the coast. Among these, 
though with other views, must be included the Pilgrims, 
driven out of their course by adverse circumstances, as well 
as the lirst settlers of Rhode Island and Connecticut. (2) 
They originated with those who had purchased lands and 
obtained charters from the crown. (3) They were founded 
under Proprietary governments. (4) They were founded 
as Royal governments." Judge Chamberlain admits that the 
Connecticut delegation had Q-reat influence in the Conven- 



XXX MEMOIR OF MELLEN CHAMBERLAIN 

tinii : first, because Sherman, Johnson, and Ellsworth were 
very able men, and the only three very able men from any 
State who worked together; and, secondly, because Connec- 
ticut, being neither one of the largest nor one of the smallest 
States, held a position of great influence as a mediator between 
the two classes of States. 

In the same volume (Vol. V. 2d ser. p. 313) Judge Cham- 
berlain gave an account of the sale of the AspinwuU-Barlow 
Library in New York, February 3-8, 1890. This sale at- 
tracted great attention in Boston, as the City Council had made 
a special appropriation of $20,000 for the purchase of rare and 
costly books on American history not to be found in the Public 
Library. He recounts the history of the Library, so far as it 
could be discovered, and gives a statement of the valuable 
purchases made from it, of which a com[)lete list can be found 
in Bulletin of the Public Library, No. 82, October,' 1890, pp. 
359-376. . The most important acquisitions were a Latin co[)y 
of the first work ever printed about the discovery of America 
— a translation of the First Letter of Columbus to the King 
and Queen of Spain in 1193. The price paid was $2,900 ; and 
though the copy is not unique, it is very rare, as only four other 
copies are known, — two in the British Museum, one in the 
Royal Library in Munich, and one in that of Mr. Brayton Ives 
in New York. It has been claimed for this edition that it is 
tiie earliest of all that were published ; but this is not Mr. Win- 
sor's opinion, who states that there may be about tiiirty copies 
known of the eight editions, and of all these not more than 
five or six are ever likely to come on the market.^ The Trus- 
tees of the Library immediately published a facsimile of the 
letter, in the Library Bulletin referred to, with a translation 
into English by Mr. 11. H. Major; but as that translation was 
made from a different Latin text, of another edition, the pres- 
ent writer, at the request of his colleagues, prepared a new 
translation, which was printed separately iu 1891. Besides 
the Columbus Letter there was purchased, for the sum of 
$6,500, " A true copie of the Court Booke of the Governor and 
Society of ^lassachusetts Bay in New England." This is the 
most perfect copy known of the first volume (in manuscript) 
of the Massachusetts Colony Records, and contains liistoi-ical 
matter of great importance nowhere else to be found. The 
1 2 Proceedings, vol. v. p. 307. 



MEMOIR OF ]MELLEN CHAMBERLAIN xxxi 

precise date of the copy, though very early, has uot been ascer- 
tained ; but it is certain that some marginal notes are in the 
handwriting of Governor Richard Bellingham, which adds 
weight to the suggestion that this was tlie official copy. Inas- 
much as this costly purchase was made solely to prevent so im- 
portant an historical document relating to our own State from 
passing into other than Massachusetts hands, it seems to be 
eminently fitting that the Commonwealth should assume the 
cost and the ownership, and that its final resting-place shoidd 
be in the State Library, as a companion to tlie manuscript 
volume of Governor Bradford's History, i 

To Vol. VI. 2d ser. p. 258, of our Proceedings Judge Cham- 
berlain contributed a " Memorial of Daniel Leonard," Chief 
Justice of Bermuda, to tlie Lords Commissioners of the Treas- 
ury in reference to his salary in that office, and called attention 
to the singular circumstance that it was nearly fifty years after 
the pu!)lication of the " Massachusettensis" Letters, in reply 
to those of John Adams, under the signature of " Novanglus," 
before Adams learned that their author was Leonard, having 
always attributed them to Jonathan Sewall. On page 400 
of the same volume he showed that John Trumbull, in his 
" McFingal,"' had alluded to the controversy in a way that points 
to Leonard as the author, and makes it quite clear that it waSy 
not Sewall. Later, on page 401, he gave certain particulars 
relative to Nathaniel Rogers, a Boston merchant, a graduate of 
Harvard, in 1762, who contributed the preface to Wood's 
"• New England's Prospect." Rogers wrote from Boston to 
Thomas Whatel}^ in London, December 12, 1768, one among 
the " Hutchinson Letters," in wiiich he proposes his own 
appointment to the place of Secretary of the Colony, when 
Andrew Oliver, then Secretary, should be advanced to the 
Lieutenant-Governorship. His death, in 1770, defeated this 
purpose. On page 433 of the same volume he printed a " Me- 
morial of Captain Charles Cochrane," presumably addressed to 
Lord George Germaine, setting forth his military career in this 
coiuitry from the arrival of the British army at Boston in 1774. 
Captain Cochrane was killed at Yorktown, October 17, 1781, 
the only ofiicer of the British army who fell during the siege. 

To Vol. VII. 2d ser. p. 127, of our Proceedings Judge 

Chamberlain contributed an article on '• Governor Winthrop's 

1 It was printed in 1890 in Wiiitmore's "Bibliographical Sketcii of the Laws 
of tlie Massaeiiusetts Colony," p. xxv, and in 1904 in Noble's " Records of tlie 
Court of Assistants," vol. ii. p. 115. 



xxxii MEMOIR OF MELLEN CHAMBERLAIN 

Estiite," with a facsimile of an unrecorded deed from him to 
Jolm Newgate of lands in Rumney Marsh (Chelsea), drawn and 
witnessed by Thomas Lechford, the lawyer, now in the pos- 
session of Charles P. Greenough, Esq. He adds: '' Winthrop's 
allotment is in plain sight of my own house, and in the last 
thirty years I have often climbed its rounded height, and never, 
I think, without consciousness that it was once Winthrop's ; 
but not until within a few months have I known that it was 
in any way associated with so pathetic an incident in the life 
of one who by great service and high character gained the 
esteem and love of his contemporaries, and has since taken his 
place among the founders of states." The '• pathetic incident" 
referred to was the serious impairment of Governor Winthrop's 
property, owing to the rascality of his bailiff, James Luxford, 
by which he lost everything but honor. Later in the same 
volume (p. 214) he took part in the discussion on " The 
Genesis of the Massachusetts Town," carried on between 
Mr. Adams, Mr. Goodell, Professor Channing, and himself. 
In his portion he develops at considerable length arguments 
employed in his paper upon " The New Historical School " ; 
but devotes especial attention to the '• parochial theory," 
which traces the origin of the New England town to the Eng- 
lish parish. In this connection he studies with great care the 
reasoning of Toulmin Smith, who claims that in England the 
parish antedates the town, and that its original functions were 
secular and not ecclesiastical, and shows the impossibility of 
its application to the origin of New England towns. As to 
their origin he says that there are at least three theories, — that 
they were native to the soil, that they were copies of English 
prototypes as those were of German, or that they were essen- 
tially reproductions of the English parish. Judge Chamberlain 
argues for the first theory, — that the origin and development 
of the town were due to certain conditions peculiar to them- 
selves. The sporadic settlements in New England were made 
on territory not capable of instant and effective protection by 
an acknowledged sovereign, so that the inhabitants were forced 
to postpone communal affairs to affairs of state, such as war and 
fieace, territorial limits, jurisdiction, and defence. From the 
first those village communities exercised certain rights and 
performed certain duties, not unlike those which afterwards ap- 
pertained to them as incorporated towns. By common consent 



MEMOIR OF MELLEN CHAIVIBERLAIN XXXlJl 

tliey divided some lands among themselves, and held other 
lands for common use ; in both cases assuming corporate owner- 
ship, so far at least as to make good title in the allottees. Then 
followed, later, the erection of these communities into bodies 
politic, owing their corporate existence to, and exercising all 
their functions in strict subordination to the paramount 
power, the State. Finally, as early as 1636, there was promul- 
gated in Massachusetts a setting forth of their rights, powers, 
and duties with a completeness and precision to which the 
advanced civilization of two and a half centuries has found 
little to add. He then goes into a detailed account of all those 
original scattered settlements by name, arguing that their 
records from what may be called the historic period, though 
meagre, throw some light upon the antecedent period. Finally, 
he enters into an examination of Mr. Adams's paper, which had 
preceded his own, and shows in what respects they agree and 
in what they differ. 

In Yol. VIII. 2d ser. p. 108, treating of " The Transfer of 
the Colony Charter," he showed that the King's Charter, dated 
March 4, 1629, granted to the purchasers from the Plymouth 
Council, constituted them a body corporate with power to 
establish two governments, — one for themselves as a corpora- 
tion in England, and another for the colonists or plantation in 
Massachusetts Bay, and that this dual government under the 
Charter has been misunderstood by many writers, including 
Mr. Doyle in his " History of the Puritan Colonies." On 
page 12-3 of the same volume may be found an article by him 
on " The Talcott Papers," which form Volume IV. of the Col- 
lections of the Connecticut Historical Society. These consist 
of papers, correspondence, and documents (chiefly official) 
during Joseph Talcott's governorship of the Colony of Con- 
necticut, 1724-1741. The most interesting subject comprised 
in this volume has to do with the celebrated law-suit of John 
Winthrop, grandson of Governor John Winthrop, of Connec- 
ticut, against his sister Ann, wife of Thomas Lechmere. Ac- 
cording to the laws of Connecticut, the landed estate of John 
Winthrop's father, Wait Winthrop, dying intestate, would be 
distributed by giving a double portion to the oldest son and 
the remaining third to his sister. But, dissatisfied with this 
division, he claimed the whole of the realty, as he would be 
entitled to do by the laws of England, on the ground that the 



xxxiv MEMOIR OF MELLEN CHAMBERLAIN 

Colony law was invalid, being in contravention of the Cliarter 
of King Charles II., in 1G62, which forbade tiie making of any 
law '^ contrary to the laws of this realm of England." This 
was not the view taken by Thomas Lechmere and his wife, 
and in 1724 they began proceedings to recover one-third of 
the real estate. These proceedings, brought before different 
courts in Massacluisetts, Connecticut, and England, terminated 
in a decree of the King in Council, February 15, 1728, which 
declared the Connecticut law void, reversed the judgments of 
her courts, and gave the whole real estate to John Winthrop. 
The appalling result of this decree can be easily understood ; 
it affected every person in Connecticut ; it reversed the policy 
of the distribution and the settlement of estates, which had 
prevailed from the beginning in Connecticut and the other 
New England colonies; it unsettled the foundations of prop- 
erty, and threatened universal litigation in families. In this 
alarming exigency the first question was as to the likelihood 
of the reversal of the decree as matter of law ; or if not, 
whether the King b}'- a supplementary charter would rescind 
that clause, which forbade their passing any law contrary to 
the law of England ; and if this lay outside of his power or 
will, then could and would Parliament do so? In the un- 
settled state of the royal prerogatives Connecticut migiit well 
doubt whether to seek relief from the King or from Parlia- 
ment ; and as it turned out, she could apply to neither with 
safety. Judge Chamberlain gives a most inteiesting narrative 
of every step taken in the long course of proceedings by the 
various counsel of Connecticut before the King in Council and 
the Board of Commissioners for Trade and Plantations, from 
1728 down to July 18, 1745, when, after a case, essentiall}' the 
same, carried by appeal from Massachusetts to the King in 
Council, had been decided differently, and the Massachusetts 
law, although contrary to the English law, had been sustained, 
tlie original decree was reversed, the ancient law restored, 
and the peril to the charter avoided. Incidentally Judge 
Chamberlain discusses the question of the constitutional rela- 
tions of the Colonies to the King and to Parliament, in their 
progress towards independence of both. He shows that the 
Colonies in their disputes about their boundaries, or conflicting 
grants within their o\Vn limits, based their respective claims on 
grants from the King as rightful owner of tlie fee of lands dis- 



MEMOIR OF MELLEN CHAMBERLAIN XXXV 

covered under the English flag ; yet, when their exigencies 
reqnired, they sought the intervention of Parliament against 
the King, and whenever they deemed it safe, they practically 
denied the authority of both. So Parliament, though recog- 
nizing the King's property in colonial lands, and his jurisdiction 
over their inhabitants, yet gradually began to invade his pre- 
rogatives, and finally transferred them to itself. The British 
statutes are full of acts regulating colonial domestic trade, 
manufactures, finance, and internal government, all of which 
are really prerogative matters. Thus we see that colonial 
affairs were an important factor in British constitutional 
progress. 

In Vol. IX. 2d ser. p. 105, Judge Chamberlain brought to 
the attention of our Society the fact that the inhabitants of 
Chelsea, on December 14, 1781, made a contribution of 
money "for the distressed inhabitants of South Carolina and 
Georgia, wIk^ are driven from their habitations by the British 
troops." No mention of this had ever been made by any 
historian of Massachusetts, known to him, and it seems to 
have been entirely forgotten. 

To Vol. X. 2d ser. p. 463, he contributed some extracts 
from a lost Diary of Samuel Hoi ten, a member of the Conti- 
nental Congress, from Massachusetts, 1778-1783; and also a 
paper, believed to be in the handwriting of William Paca, a 
signer of the Declaration of Independence, from Maryland, 
containing the substance of a conversation of Mr. James 
Wilson, a signer of the Declaration and afterwards Judge of 
the Supreme Coui't of the United States, about the serious 
condition of American affairs in March, 1778. On page 503 of 
the same volume he printed certain extracts from manuscripts 
of General William Chamberlin, relating to the Battle of 
Bennington, and some doggerel verses descriptive of the 
fight. 

To Vol. XI. 2d ser. pp. 286-299, he contributed an inter- 
esting review of the principal contents of the Bowdoin and 
Temple Papers, then just published by our Society. He 
believes that these writings will enhance the already high 
reputation of James Bowdoin, and serve to modify somewhat 
the historic judgment respecting his son-in-iaw. Sir John 
Temple, as well as to throw light upon the true history of 
the American Revolution and upon two conspicuous actors 



xxxvi ]\IEM01R OF MELLEN CHAMBERLAIN 

therein. Incidentally he criticises Bancroft's historical work, 
as impaired by its manifest partisanship, notwithstanding its 
great and manifest excellences. Judge Chamberlain wonders 
why James Bowdoin is never mentioned with " the Otises, the 
Adamses, the Warrens, and the Hancocks," for he rendered 
services second to those of no other, and under circumstances 
which ordinarily disqualify a man for leadership in a revolu- 
tion. Neither his inde[)endent fortune, nor his aristocratic 
position, nor his personal friendships, nor that conservatism 
which culture is supposed to engender, swerved him bv a 
liair's breadth, or for a moment deadened his zeal in the 
patriotic cause till its complete triumph. Judge Chamberlain's 
opinion of Temple is somewhat qualified; his abilities and his 
services to the cause of the patriots are beyond question, but 
his connection with the abstraction and transmission to Boston 
of "The Hutchinson Letters" implies such a violation of 
the sacredness of private correspondence that it is doubtful 
whether he is entitled to share in that charitable consideration 
which all will readily accord to others of the Boston patriots. 
The Bowdoin and Temple Papers are of great value in cor- 
recting popular errors in regard to the causes of the American 
Revolution. They pi-ove that the Grenville policy of drawing 
a revenue from the Colonies, after the excessive expenditure 
incurred in the subjugation of Canada, was intended to support 
the expense of the military establishment in the Colonies, and 
not to be ap])lied to the payment of the debt thus incurred ; also 
that the modification of the charter in Massachusetts, in 177-lr, 
Avas a plan duly considered and determined upon without 
special reference to any particular exigency, and not a malig- 
nant exercise of power provoked by the destruction of the tea 
in 1773. So, too, the " Molasses Act" of 1773, which caused 
much discontent in Massachusetts, as seriously affecting one 
of her great industries, — that of distilling rum from molasses 
for' West India consumption, — was made inoperative by rea- 
son of the great inducements it offered to smuggling; and its 
enforcement was one of the causes of the Revolution. And. 
finally, the Stamp Act of 1765 was preceded by a careful 
investigation of the resources of the Colonies, and an endeavor 
to learn what subjects and what mode of taxation were least 
objeclionable to the Colonists. At the November meeting of 
this Society, 1897, Judge Chamberlain joined in the tributes 



MEMOIR OF MELLEN CHAMBERLAIN XXXVll 

to the memory of Justin Winsor, dwelling especially upon tlie 
admii-able character of his administration of the Boston Public 
Library, his method of historical composition, and his unusual 
qualities as a presidi'ng officer. ' 

The last time Judge Chamberlain took part in our pro- 
ceedings was at the June meeting, 1900, when he spoke ex- 
temporaneously on the social and economical revolution in 
New England, which began al)0Ut fifty years ago, and which 
seemed to him to have produced far greater and more important 
changes than the political revolution that preceded it. He 
gave some interesting reminiscences of his own boyhood on 
the banks of the Merrimac, of the emigration to the Western 
States, of the decline of the rural districts, and of the effects 
consequent upon the opening of the first long railroad line. 

As a writer upon historical topics Judge Chamberlain first 
attracted attention by a notable address before the Webster 
Historical Society, January 18, 1884, after he had passed his 
sixty-second year, on " John Adams the Statesman of the 
American Revolution." In the report of the Council of this 
Society for that year the present writer said of that address 
that " he has traced the secret springs of that great movement 
with a depth of philosophical insight superior to any previous 
treatment of the subject." This estimate of the value of that 
study has been confirmed by the opinion of numerous students 
of history. Let me dwell briefly here upon certain considera- 
tions that were either specially brought out or were put in a. 
new light in this atldress. The period of John Adams's life 
included was the nine years covered by the American Revo- 
lution, and the principal object of the paper was to point out 
how there can justly be claimed for him the foremost place 
among such statesmen as Samuel Adams, John Jay, Thomas 
Jefferson, and even Benjamin Franklin. It was because John 
Adams possessed two of the prime faculties of a great states- 
man, " the historic imagination, which develops nationality 
fiom its germ ; and clear intuitions of organic constitutional 
law." It was especially this sublime intuition of nationality 
which distinguished him among his contemporaries. When 
the declaration of the Continental Congress, September, 1774, 
went forth, the cause of Massachusetts became the cause of 
all the Colonies ; it was nationalized, and this was John 
Adams's greatest feat in statesmanship. The value of this 



XX XVI 11 3MEM0IR OF MELLEX CHAMBERLAIN 

politic stroke became apparent in the next session of Congress 
in May, 1775. He then developed his plan of severing at 
once every political tie wliicli bound the separate Colonies to 
Great Britain through their royal governments, and of laying 
the basis for independence by the erection of State govern- 
ments in their stead; this eventuated in the Declaration of 
Independence. 

When John Adams entered public life, in 1774, he was 
probably well qualified to conduct causes and to argue 
questions of public law before any tribunal sitting in West- 
minster Hall, and he might have represented with distinction 
any Englisii constituency in the House of Commons. By his 
mental constitution as well as by special education he was 
constructive ; before he tore down, he planned reconstruction. 
Tims he maintained, first in Massachusetts and later in the 
Continental Congress, that the people of the Colonies were 
actually living under constitutional governments that had 
been developed gradually among themselves, and not living 
under the royal charters ; these constitutions he claimed were 
inviolable. As a consequence acts which under the royal 
charters would have been rebellion to the British constitution 
were, on the contrary, a justifiable and patriotic defence of 
the constitutional liberties of the people. The Colonists 
claimed all the rights of Englishmen, and while they never 
disputed the reasonable exercise of its powers by Parliament, 
they repudiated the assumption that colonial legislation or 
colonial courts of law could be controlled by the royal 
prerogative. 

Judge Ciiamberlain does not find the causes of the Ameri- 
can Revolution in such acts of provocation as the passage of 
the Stamp Act, Writs of Assistance, and the attempt to tax 
the Colonies without representation, as is the generally ac- 
cepted opinion. These were the occasion rather tlian the 
cause of tiie Revolution. They only hastened a crisis which 
could not iiav^ been averted. The true causes lay in the 
innate temper of the Colonists, their English love of freedom, 
their jealousy of commercial interference, and their increasing 
reliance upon their charters as the real foundations of their 
governments and of their political rights. 

But what attracted most attention in tiiis address was the 
assertion that " the American Revolution in its most vital and 



MEMOIR OF MELLEN CHAMBERLAIN xxxix 

most potent force was religious rather than political." He 
claims that the encroachment of the English Churcli upon 
the New England ecclesiasticisra, and the Puritan apprehen- 
sion that it would become the State religion, irritated and 
alarmed the Puritan mind, until the Revolution followed as a 
consequence. In Virginia it was otherwise; there ''it was 
essentially a question of taxation"; the Colonists there were 
mainly identified with the English Church, and there could 
arise no ecclesiastical issue. Subsequently he qualified this 
statement by adding " it was one cause ; no one claims that it 
was the sole cause." In a note appended to the reprint of 
the address he says, " Notwithstanding what I say about 
Eeclesiasticism as a cause of the Revolution, some of my 
critics have substituted tlie for «." This seems to me hardly 
ingenuous, considering the prominence given to this cause 
throughout the course of his argument. His view seems to be 
developed from John Adams's opinion, quoted by him in an- 
other note to the reprint, that " the apprehension of Episcopacy 
contributed fifty years ago as much as any cause to arouse the 
attention of the common people. . . . The objection was not 
merely to the ofiiije of a bishop, but to the authority of Par- 
liament over the Colonies." ^ In still another note Judge 
Chamberlain adds : " Wiien this address was delivered, in 
1884, it was, so far as I had noticed, the earliest historical 
presentation of ecclesiasticisra (associated with political lib- 
erty) as one of the causes which brought on the Revolution. 
I restricted the influence to Massachusetts and Virsrinia." 
Naturally he attributed a somewhat overweening importance 
to the special cause that he believed to have been his own 
discovery. In the same note he continues, " By some inad- 
vertence at the time when this paper was preparing I failed to 
consult Foote's 'Annals of King's Chapel.' Had I read this 
work I should have seen that 1 had been anticipated in my 
views, and have acknowledged the industrious research, can- 
dor, good judgment, and literary ability which, as I think, have 
been combined in an equal degree in no historical Avork by 
an American since Belknap's 'History of New Hampshire.' 
Had I done so, it would have saved me vast labor and much 
thought, which I do not, however, now regret, for I w^as 
enabled to form an independent judgment, which happens to 
1 Works, vol. X. p. 185. 



xl MEMOIR OF ilELLEX CHAMBERLAIN 

accorrl witli tlint of ]\Ir. Fonte." Unquestionably these novel 
view.s of Judge Chamberlain attracted much attention and 
were widely commented upon in private communications and 
in the public press. They met with almost universal approval 
at the time, as not only neiv but true. There were some who 
dissented, it is true, but Judge Chamberlain always pleased 
himself with believing that his views have been generally 
accepted as true by the writers of later historical monographs. 
This cannot be said, however, of one of the latest studies of 
the subject, '- The Anglican Episcopate and the American 
Colonies," by Arthur Lyon Cross. ^ 

What is regarded l)y many as the ablest of Judge Chamber- 
lain's historical writings is the chapter on "The Revolution 
Impending," contributed in 1888 to Vol. VI. of Winsor's 
" Narrative and Critical History of America." This was 
written at about the same time as a paper read before the 
American Historical Association at its Boston meeting in 
May, 1887, on " The Constitutional Relations of the American 
Colonies to the English Government at the Commencement 
of the American Revolution," and each study supplements 
the other. These papers show a sure insight into the hid- 
den springs of political activity in the Colonies ; while his 
familiarity with the legislative acts of the mother country, his 
knowledge of the principles of the common law, and his judi- 
cial cast of mind shed a flood of light upon points obscure to 
or misunderstood l»y writers who have not enjoyed the advan- 
tage of a similar legal training. He was thus able to give a 
more philosophical treatment of the causes and a wider in- 
terpretation of the results of the Revolution than it had pre- 
viously received. He starts with the assertion that it was no 
unrelated event, but formed a part of the history of the Brit- 
ish race on both continents, standing midway between the 
Great Rebellion and the Revolution of 1688, on the one hand, 
and the Reform Bill of 1832 and the Extension of the Suf- 
frage in 1884 on the other. It was not a quarrel between two 
peoples, but a strife between two parties (the conservatives 
and the liberals) in both countries, that went on at the same 
time and with nearly equal step. Its purpose in Great Britain 
was to regain liberty, and in America to preserve it. It not 
only liberated the English colonies in America, but wrought 
1 Harvard Historical Studies, vol. ix. 1902. 



MEMOIR OF :\IELLEN CHAMBERLAIN xli 

Avith other forces in transferring the prerogatives of tlie crown 
to Parliament, The American Revolution was one of those 
great world movements which mark constitutional progress. 

The recognition of these historical papers as of permanent 
value was immediate, and gave him great satisfaction. Espe- 
cially agreeable to him was the appreciation of his views 
shown by a French historian, M. Charles Borgeaud, in his 
"Etablissement et Revision des Constitutions en Amerique et 
en Europe," who quotes at some length from his " Revolu- 
tion Impending," and adds, "it would be difficult to indicate 
more clearly the real character of the American Revolution." 

In 1890 Messrs. Hougiiton, Mifflin, & Co. published a selec- 
tion of the more important of Judge Chamberlain's writings 
in a volume of 476 pages, 8vo, under the editorial supervision 
of Mr. Lindsay Swift, of the Boston Public Library. The 
book had a most cordial reception from scholars and the lit- 
erary journals, and immediately passed into a second edition. 
The title was "John Adams the Statesman of the American 
Revolution, with other Essays and Addresses, Historical and 
Literary." The contents comprised, besides the titular address, 
the one before the American Historical Association, and three 
articles selected from the Proceedings of this Society. There 
were also added a review of McMaster's " History of tlie People 
of the United States," reprinted from "The Andover Review," 
June, 1886, and one of Palfrey's " History of New England," 
taken from " The Nation" of July 10, 1890. Besides these 
there were also included various occasional addresses and a 
few literary articles from periodicals. Tlie titles of these will 
be given here in order that the list of his published writings 
may be complete ; they comprise " Remarks on Daniel Webster 
as an Orator," made at the dinner of the Alumni of Dart- 
mouth College, June 28, 1882, and an address at a later dinner 
on the occasion of the Dedication of a Statue of Daniel Web- 
ster. At the dedication of Wilson Hall, Dartmouth College 
Library, June 25, 1885, he made the principal address on 
" The Sco{)e of a College Librar}^" To the " Dartmouth 
Monthly," October, 1886, he contributed an article on " Land- 
scape in Life and in Poetry " ; and at the dedication of 
the Biooks Library Building at Brattleborough, Vermont, 
January 25, 1887, he delivered the principal address on 
" The Old and the New Order in New Ensjland Life and 



xlii MEMOIR OF MELLEN CHAMBERLAIN 

Letters." On December 30 of the same year he peiformed 
the same service at the dedication of the Woods Memoiial 
Lil)raiy Building, at Barre, Massachusetts ; the subject of 
liis address was "Imaginative Literature in I'ublic Libraries." 
ijefore the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Good Citi- 
zenship he delivered an address, at Boston, on February 25, 
18b9, on " Josiah Quincy, the Great Mayor." To the " Cen- 
tury Magazine," September, 1898, he contributed an article 
entitled " A Glance at Daniel Webster," and he read a paper 
bel'ore the Bostonian Society, on December 12 of the same 
year, on " Political Maxims." The latest of these occasional 
addresses was made at a dinner of the Sons of the American 
Revolution at Concord, Massachusetts, April 19, 1894. 

The literary quality which marks the style of these addresses 
and essays is uncommon. No one can read the volume through 
without recognizing their charm, and feeling regret that their 
amount is so limited. The present writer has previously re- 
marked tliat, in his opinion, for sound scholarship, critical 
sagacity, sober judgment, and catholicity of taste the volume 
ranks as equal to any that our generation has produced, and 
he expressed the belief that it would long iiold a cherished 
place upon the shelves of the lovers of refined literature. The 
literary critic of the "• New York Times" goes stdl farther in 
his commendation of Judge Chamberlain's style. In " a reply 
to correspondents," January 7, 1899, he says: "Letters come 
to the editor now and then asking for his advice as to the for- 
mation of a good style, as to learning how to write, or as to 
what is good style. They are the most difficult questions to 
answer. But in answer to all such appeals we would say, 
read Judge Chamberlain's volume. Spend some days and 
nights with Addison, if you will, but keep others for the 
Judge." 

Judge Chamberlain's interest in historical studies, so early 
manifested, received an equally early recognition. He was 
elected a member of the New Hampshire Historical Society, 
when he was only nineteen years old, the youngest member 
ever chosen. Shortly afterwards he was made a Correspond- 
ing Member of the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries at 
Copenhagen, Denmark. Besides his meml)ership in our 
own Society he was elected a Corresponding Member of 
the New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania Historical 



MEMOIR OF MELLEN CHAMBERLAIN xliii 

Societies, and a Resident Fellow of the American Academ}^ 
of Arts and Sciences, in the Class of Political Economy and 
History. 

His professional and public duties would seem to have left 
him little time for other work ; but after he came to the 
Public Library we have seen that he was frequently called 
upon to deliver addiesses, and his stores of knowledge were 
always at the service of those who sought him; his help 
was often asked b} writers whose researches had led them to 
the literary treasures under his keeping ; this was freely and 
gladly rendered, and has often been gratefully acknowledged. 

Judge Chamberlain was of a very social disposition, a most 
agreeable companion, delightful in conversation, — a truly 
'' clubable man," as Dr. Johnson called Boswell ; and his 
membership in the St. Botolph and Tavern Clubs was a 
source of great happiness to him in his later years. 

For several years his health had been precarious, and 
finally disease of the heart, accompanied by an acute attack 
of Blight's disease, developed, and he died on the 25th of June, 
1900, having just completed his seventy-ninth year. His 
funeral took place from the little Congregational Trinitarian 
Church near his home, with which he had been connected 
more than twenty years, having been a member of the com- 
mittee which erected, it. The services were very largely 
attended by members of the city government of Chelsea, 
representatives of the Board of Trustees of the Boston Public 
Library, and members of this Society, besides many relatives 
and friends. His body was laid to rest in Danvers Cemetery 
by the side of his wife, in accordance with his own request. 

Twenty years before his death he had printed in a local 
newspaper " The History of Winnisimmet, Rumney Marsh, 
and Pullen Point"; and several years subsequently the city 
of Chelsea appropriated a few hundred dollars to be expended 
by him in gathering materials and expanding his work. He 
continued at this task steadily for years, but it grew rapidly 
under his hands, and after the unexpected discovery of new 
material, it became apparent to him that he would not live 
to complete it. He accordingly made provision by his last 
will that the unfinished material should be placed in the pos- 
session of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and the sum 
of $5,000 be paid over to it by his executors to complete and 



xliv MEMOIR OF MELLEN CHAMBERLAIN 

print the work, with an fidditional two-ninths of the residue of 
his estate, after the payment of certain legacies. 

At first certain of tiie heirs-at-la\v threatened to oppose the 
probating the will, on account of their objection to some 
be(piests contained in it, — not, however, to those given to this 
Society. These objections were ultimately withdrawn, and 
the will allowed, and at the Annual Meeting of this Society 
in April, 1901, the President announced the receipt from the 
executors of the incomplete manuscript of The History of 
Chelsea, with ten bound folio volumes of manuscripts, plans, 
engravings, photographs, etc., used in its prepaiation. Two 
years later, at the Annual Meeting in 11)03, the Tieasurer 
reported that some questions had arisen under the will, and 
the instructions of the Supreme Judicial Court had been re- 
quested ; it was expected that these would soon be handed 
down, when it could be ascertained just what sum would be 
available for the purposes intended by Judge Chamberlain, 
but that it would be much less than had been anticipated by 
him. At the December meeting of the same year the Treas- 
urer informed the Society that a part of the bequest had 
been paid over, and thereupon a committee, consisting of the 
President, the Treasurer, and the present writei', was ap- 
pointed to publish The History of Chelsea. At the following 
Annual Meeting in April, 1904, the Treasurer reported that 
he had received from the executors the sum of $5,520 on 
account of the bequest, and that a further sum of about an 
equal amount was expected on the final settlement of the 
estate. ' 

The Committee of Publication has intrusted the prepara- 
tion for the press of the manuscript and illustrative ma- 
terial to Miss Jenny Chamberlain Watts, a relative of Judge 
Chamberlain, who had proved her capacity for such woik by 
her valuable notes contributed to " The Diary of John Quincy 
Adams," published in the Proceedings of this Society, and 
other literary work ; and to Mr. William R. Cutter, Librarian 
of the Woburn Public Library, the author of the Histor}' 
of Arlington ; and it is expected that the printing of the 
history will be begun in the immediate future. 




BOSTON HARBOR, 1711, 



HISTORY OF CHELSEA 



CHAPTER I 

FROM 1739 to 1846, Chelsea included the present city of 
the same name, with the towns of Revere and Winthrop, 
all of which, from 1634 to January 10, 1738/9, were parts of 
Boston, and severally known as Winnisimmet, Rumney Marsh, 
and Pullen Point In 1739^ this territory, on the petition 
of its inhabitants, but with the strenuous opposition of Boston, 
was set off and incorporated as the town of Chelsea ; from 
that date its municipal history begins. But for a hundred 
years these outlying communities, though parts of Boston and 
subject to its municipal control, had lives and interests not 
quite the same as those of the principal settlement, from 
which they were separated by more than a mile of water, 
the confluence of the Mystic and Charles rivers. 

I shall, therefore, give some account of this region, and of 
its inhabitants, when first settled by Englishmen ; and of the 
life these settlers and their descendants led, so far as I may 
from the scanty facts that have been preserved; and, this 
period passed over, give the municipal history of the town 
from its civil and ecclesiastical records. 

It is no longer possible to trace in their original complete- 

* Non-observance of the difference between old style and new, led to a 
mistake in the date of the City Seal. Chelsea was set off from Boston 
and incorporated as a town January 10, 1739. It then included the towns 
since known as North Chelsea and Winthrop. North Chelsea, including 
Winthrop, was set off and incorporated as the town of North Chelsea 
jMarch 19, 1846. Winthrop was set off from North Chelsea and incor- 
porated March 27, 1852. The name of North Chelsea was changed to 
Revere March 24, 1871. Chelsea was incorporated as a city March 13, 
1857. 

VOL. I. — 1 1 



4 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. I 

in the upper bay, of all places, chose as their home Win- 
nisimmet with its strong soil, warm southern slopes, and un- 
equalled prospects. 

William Wood, in the colony from 1629 to 1633, saw this 
and wrote: " The last Towne in the still Bay is Winnisimet ; 
a very sweet place for situation, and stands very commo- 
diously, being fit to entertaine more planters than are yet 
seated: it is within a mile of Charles Towne, the River onely 
parting them. The chiefe Hands which keepe out the Winde 
and the Sea from disturbing the Harbours, are first Deare 
Hand, which lies within a flight-shot of PulUn-point. This 
Hand is so called, because of the Deare which often swimme 
thither from the Maine, when they are chased by the Woolves : 
Some have killed sixteene Deere in a day upon this Hand. 
The opposite shore is called Pullin-point, because that is the 
usuall Channel. Boats used to passe thorow into the Bay; 
and the Tyde being very strong, they are constrayned to goe 
ashore, and hale their Boats by the sealing, or roades, where- 
upon it was called PuUin-point.'^ ^ 

Whatever abatement the first settlers about Boston Bay, 
after a year's trial of its stubborn soil under the scorching 
heats of summer and the no less severe frosts of winter, found 
necessary to make from the glowing account of the country 
by Captain John Smith,^ or by Thomas Graves,^ the engineer 
sent over to discover mines, erect fortifications, and make sur- 
veys, or by the Rev. Francis Higginson,^'' — aware, as he says, 
of the proverb that " Travellers may lie by authority," — or 
even from the more rational account in the letter of Thomas 
Dudley to the Countess of Lincoln,^ ^ the planters at Winnisim- 
met had special reasons for contentment. Their land fairly 

' New Englands Prospect (Prince Soc. ed.), 44, 45. The name " Pullen 
Poynte " is in Mass. Col. Rec., 1. 78, September 18, 1030; " Winnett- 
semett," ibid., 82, November 30. 1630; and " Rumney Marslie." ibid., 130, 
September 25, 1634, but later than Wood, 47 ; and " Powder Home Hill " 
is in Mass. Col. Rec, i. 101, November 7, 1632. 

* Description of New England in Force's Tracts, ii. 6. 

' Young, Chronicles of Mass., 264. 

"• Ibid., 242. 

" Ibid., 301-341. For the disillusionment alluded to see the remark- 
able letter of Pond, from Watertown, March 15, 1631, to his father, 

in England. 2 Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc, viii. 471. 



Chap. I] HISTORY OF CHELSEA 5 

repaid the labor it required. The surrounding seas and rivers 
tempered the severity of the climate, and furnished fish both 
for food and for enriching the soil. Natural marsh grasses,, 
later of much commercial value, were substitutes until the 
uplands grew English grasses. 



HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. II 



CHAPTEE II 

THE PLANTERS AT WINNISIMMET 

HUTCIIIIsrSOX, writing of 1626, says, "I find mention 
made of planters at Winisimet about the same time, 
who probably removed there from some of the other planta- 
tions." ^ But who these planters were, when or whence they 
came, or of their manner of life we know nothing. 

In 1614 Captain John Smith explored the coast of New 
England, looked into Boston harbor, and named the Charles. 
Probably for more than a century before this, fishermen from 
Europe had found their way hither, repaired their vessels, 

* Hist, of Mass. (ed. 1795), i. 15. J. G. Palfrey (Hist, of New Eng., i. 
233) says that William Jeffrey and Jolm Burslem probably had cottages 
there in 1G28. When Morton, in June, 1G28, was sent to England, for 
conduct at Mount Wollaston dangerous to the plantations, Governor 
Bradford says that "those that joyned in this acction (and after con- 
tributed to ye charge of sending him for England) were from Pascataway, 
Namkeake, Winisiniett, Weesagascusett, Natasco, and other places wher 
any English were seated." (Hist, of Plymouth, Charles Deane, ed., 240.) 
His " Letter Book " gives the contributions: 

£ s. £ s. 

Plymouth 2 10 Natascot 1 10 

Naumkeak 1 10 Mrs. Tliomson ... 15 

Pascataquack ... 2 10 Mr. Blackston ... 12 

Mr. Jeffrey and Mr. Edward Hilton ... 1 

Burslem 2 

Were Jeffrey and Burslem of Wessagusset, where Charles Francis Adams 
places them with the remnant of Gorges' company (Proc. Mass. Hist. 
Soc, xvi. 198), or of Winnisimmet? Samuel Maverick resided there as 
early as 1625; but he may not have joined the movement against Morton. 
(See A Briefe Discription of New England in 2 Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc, 
i. 238.) If so, who represented Winnisimmet, unless Jeffrey and Burslem? 
If they resided there, they left no mark. [Jeffrey and Burslem dwelt at 
Wessagusset; Prince Society edition of New English Canaan, 24. As the 
widow of David Thompson married Samuel Maverick, possibly the con- 
tribution of Winnisimmet was included under her name. See appendix to 
this cliapter.] 



Chap. II] THE PLANTERS AT WINNISIAIMET 7 

and traded with the natives. But the first permanent settle- 
ment in Boston harbor was at Winnisimmet, perhaps in 1624, 
certainly not later than 1625, when and where was " forti- 
fied " the oldest permanent house within the Massachusetts 
Bay Colony.^ 

This was Samuel Maverick's Palisade house. The date of 
its fortification is given by himself. In A Brief e Discrip- 
tion of New England,^ about 1660, he says, " Two miles 
Sowth from Rumney Marsh on the North side of Mistick 
Eiver is Winnisime which though but a few houses on it, yet 
deserves to be mencond One house yet standing there which 
is the Antientest house in the Massachusetts Government . a 
house which in the yeare 1625 I fortified with a Pillizado and 
filankers and gunnes both belowe and above in them whicli 
awed the Indians who at that time had a mind to Cutt oft" 
the English, They once faced it but receiveing a repulse 
never attempted it more although (as now they confesse) they 
repented it when about 2 yeares after they saw so many Eng- 
lish come over." 

But whence or with whom Maverick came, or of his parent- 
age, we know nothing. Those of his name lived in Devonshire, 
about forty miles from Exeter, and of these was the Rev. John 
Maverick, who came over in 1630, and settled in Dorchester, 
where he died in 1636. It has been said, but Avith little 
reason, that he was the father of Samuel Maverick.^ At 

* Charles Francis Adams claims that Gorges' settlement at Weymouth, 
in 1G23, was permanent. If so, houses older than that of Maverick's, at 
Winnisimmet, must have been built there ; but they were doubtless log 
huts, which soon disappeared. Three Episodes of Mass. Hist., i. 144, 342. 

^ Found in the British Museum by Henry F. Waters, and printed in 
1884 in 2 Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc., i.'231; also in New Eng. Hist, and 
Gen. Reg., January, 1885; also in a pamphlet. 

* Sumner, Hist, of East Boston, 71; but see Savage, Gen. Diet., iii. 
181. Josselyn, who was entertained by Samuel Maverick in 1G38, and 
may have learned his personal history, says of the arrival of Winthrop, 
in 1G30, that in his party was " Mr. Maverich (the Father of Mr. Samuel 
Maverich, one of his Majesties Commissioners)." 3 Coll. Mass Hist. Soc, 
iii. 377. Josselyn is not reliable. The filiation is, however, in the His- 
tory of Dorchester (p. 404), which is supposed to be based on the manu- 
scripts of James Blake, who died in 1750. But if Samuel Maverick was 
the son of the Rev. John Maverick, who with his party were set ashore 
at Nantasket and left to shift for themselves without shelter in 1G30, 
it is remarkable that the son was not the first to assist his father and 



8 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. II 

one time it seemed probable that Maverick, Blackstone, and 
Walford were of Gorges' company, which settled on Weston's 
deserted plantation at Weymouth ; ^ but Maverick came a 
year laler.^ 

Samuel Maverick, born about 1602, was twenty-two years 
old when he came to America in 1624." Neither the family 
name of his wife Amias,^ nor the time or place of their mar- 
riage is known.^ Their children were Xathaniel, Mary, and 
Samuel. There was an Elias Maverick here in 1630, who 
became the owner of that part of Winnisimmet not included 
in Samuel Maverick's deed to Richard Bellingham in 1634/5 ; 
and a Moses Maverick at Marblehead, 1635, who paid rent 
for Noddle's Island in 1636, having charge of it during 

open his hospitable house to him, as a few days later he did to Winthrop 
and his party; or, if he did, that Roger Clap, who came over with tlie 
father, made no mention of it in his minute account of the landing. 
[Roger Clap wrote over forty years after the event.] Rev. John Mave- 
rick, the non-conformist, and Samuel Maverick, the Church-of-England 
man, may liave been father and son, and have come from Devonsliire ; 
but searches of the parish registers in that county thus far afford no 
evidence of it. 

■* [See the appendix to this chapter.] 

* He may have come by way of Piscataqua. Under Sagadahock, Pop- 
ham's settlement of 1607, he says: "I found Rootes and Garden hcarbs 
and some old walles there, when I went first over which shewed it to be 
tlie place where they had been." Briefe Discription of New Eng., cited 
above, 232. He knew David Thompson of Piscataqua before the latter 
settled his island in Boston Bay; for in 1625, Thompson assisted him in 
building his house at Winnisimmet. Antipas Maverick once lived at Kit- 
tery, near Piscataqua, as did Mary Hooke, Maverick's daughter. Sumner, 
East Boston, 168. " There were very friendly relations between Vane and 
Samuel Maverick, an Episcopalian, a sympathizer with the Gorgeses, an 
owner of land at Agamenticus . . . Maverick's son married a daughter of 
Jolin Wheelwright. Anthony Checkley, Maverick's friend, married an- 
otlier. Edward Lyde, one of the first wardens of the Episcopal church 
in Boston, married a third daughter. Edward Rish worth, son of one of 
the principal opponents of the Colony, married a fourth." Pub. of the 
Col. Soc. of Mass., i. 284. [See the appendix to this chapter.] 

' Briefe Discription of New Eng., cited above, 246. 

* Their eldest son was of age not later tlian 1650, and their marriage 
probably not later than 1628. See Sumner, East Boston, 107, 161 ; for a 
fuller account of the Maverick family, ibid., pp. 161-177. Mary, daughter 
of Samuel Maverick, married first John Palsgrave, February 8, 1655/6; 
and second, Francis Hooke, September 20, 1600. Samuel, son of Samuel 
Maverick, married Rebecca, daughter of the Rev. John Wheelwright, in 
1060, and died in Boston, March 10, 1603/4. See N. E. Gen. Reg., xii. 
155; xvi, 333. 



Chap. II] THE PLANTERS AT WINNISIMI^IET 9 

Samuel Maverick's absence in Virginia ; ® and, as already 
said, an Antipas Maverick at Kittery, Maine, where lived 
Mary Hooke, Samuel Maverick's daughter.^** Elias, Moses, 
and Antipas may have been brothers or relatives of Samuel 
Maverick. 

Among the earliest grants by the Great Council for N"ew 
England was that to Robert Gorges, youngest son of Sir Fer- 
dinando, December 30, 1622, described as "all that Part 
of the Main Land in New-England . . . situate, lying and 
being upon the North-East side of the Bay, called or knowne 
by the N^ame of Massachuset, . . . together with all the 
Shoars and Coasts along the Sea, for ten English Miles, in 
a streight Line towards the North-East, accounting one thou- 
sand, seven hundred and sixty yards to the Mile, and thirty 
English Miles (after the same rate) unto the Main Land 
through all the Breadth aforesaid, together with all the 
Islets and Islands, lying within three Miles of any Part of the 
said Lands. . . . " ^^ These bounds, from the Charles on 
the south ten miles north towards Salem and thirty miles into 
the country, included Charlestown (and the modern towns 
set off from her), Chelsea, Revere, Winthrop, and East Bos- 
ton, but not necessarily Boston. 

A government Avas formed for this territory, and in 1623 
Robert Gorges came over as lieutenant-general and governor, 
with a suite of officers, to set up his court. But Winnisimmet, 
the most eligible place within his grant, was not its chosen 
seat. On the other side of the bay, at Wessagusset, now 
Weymouth, Thomas Weston's deserted plantation, outside the 
limits of his grant, Gorges made his settlement, September, 
1623. It did not prosper, and the next year Gorges, disap- 
pointed and in failing health, returned to England with a 
part of his company, leaving his affairs with an agent. 

It has been said that some of those whom Gorges left 

» Sumner, East Boston, 80. [See also infra, chap, iii., Appendix 1.] 

" Ibid., 108. 

" Ebenezer Hazard, Hist. Coll., i. lo3. The southerly bound of 
Robert Gorges' patent presents this difficulty that it does not include 
Weymouth, the seat of his plantation, nor, necessarily, Boston, \vhich 
Tliomas C. Amory assumes to have T)een within his patent, and by him 
conveyed to William Blaxton. Collections of the Bostonian Society, i. 
6, 12. 



10 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. II 

at Wessagiisset made settlements in the bay, as Blackstone's at 
Boston, Walford's at Charlestown, and Samuel Maverick's at 
Winnisimmet. Frotliingliam ^' thinks it not improbable that 
the planters at Winnisimmet, of whom Hutchinson speaks, 
were of the Gorges' colony; and Lewis" writes that Gorges, 
who "' came over in 1623, took possession of his lands, and 
probably commenced a settlement at Winnisimet, which was 
also included in his grant." Thornton also says that " Gorges 
had attempted to establish a colony within the bounds of his 
patent, which he had taken possession of in person, but was 
not successful." ^* These statements, though not improbable, 
rest on no disclosed authority. 

Robert Gorges' lands, it is said, descended to his brother 
John, who, in January, 1628/9, conveyed to Sir William 
Brereton '" all the land in breadth lying from the east side 
of Charles river to the easterly part of the cape called Xaliant, 
and all the lands lying in length twenty miles [Gorges' grant 
ran ten miles to the northeast and thirty miles inland] north- 
east into the main land, from the mouth of the said Charles 
river, lying also in length twenty miles into the main land 
from the said Cape !Nahant. Also two islands lying next 
unto the shore between ISTahant and Charles river, the bigger 
called ' Brereton,' and the lesser ' Susanna ' " ^^ — later known 
as Noddle's Island and Hog Island. John Gorges, probably 
in 1628, leased a portion of this territory to John Oldham 
(murdered by the Connecticut Pequots in 1636) and John 
Dorrell. But the title of John Gorges was disregarded in 
the Massachusetts Bay Charter from the King of March 
4, 1628/9.'" 

" Hist, of Charlestown, 9. 

" Hist, of Lynn, 4.3. 

" Landing at Cape Ann, G4. [See infra, the appendix to tliis chapter.] 

" Lewis, Lynn, 43, 44. 

^" Gorges' heirs and Sir WiHiam Brereton urged its recognition, but 
the Company pronounced it invalid February 10, 1629/30 (Mass. Col. 
Kpc, i. 68). A document cited in Lewis' Lynn gives Gorges' title, the 
conveyance to Sir ^Yilliam Brereton, and its succession in liis line. His 
grant and the Oldham lease conflict. Young, Chronicles of Mass., 169; 
Sumner, East Boston, 47 et seq.; Mass. Col. Rec, i. 389. Sir William 
is said to have sent over several families, who, with their servants, im- 
proved his purchase; but all evidence of this has disappeared. [The 
facts of the case seem as follows: Captain Robert Gorges, also David 



CiiAP. II] THE PLANTERS AT WINNISIMMET 11 

Both the deed and lease of John Gorges included old 
Chelsea, and the Company recognized some equitable interest, 
if not a legal title, in the settlers near Gorges' tract. There 
is no known d^ed of Winnisimmet to Samuel Maverick and 
John Blackleach,^^ yet their possession of it was not dis- 
turbed and their deed to Richard Bellingham in 1635 was 
recognized as valid by Boston in 1640/* 

Tliompson, died before 1628. Tlie Council of New England, regarding 
the grant to Captain Gorges as having lapsed, conveyed the territory to 
Sir Henry Rosewell and his associates, March 19, 1627/8. But John 
Gorges, elder brother of Captain Robert Gorges, came forward as his heir, 
claimed the land, and deeded part of it in January, 1628/9, to Sir William 
lirereton, who was prepared to send over families to take possession. The 
Massacliusetts Bay Company secured in the following March a Charter 
from the King, confirming their grant of March 19, 1627/8, and were then, 
in a position to refuse to recognize this grant to Brereton, and did so 
February 10, 1629/30.] 

" John Blackleach, owner with Samuel Maverick of Winnisimmet, 
joined in the deed of it to Richard Bellingham in 1635 ; but it does not 
appear that he lived there. He was a merchant at Salem in 1634, free- 
jnan May 6, 1635, and, with his wife Elizabeth, was admitted to the 
church there. In 1636 he was a deputy to the General Court; in 1637, 
Salem gave liim three hundred acres, and in 1638/9, as he had " not suffi- 
cient ground to mayntaine a plough, the towne for the furthering of his 
endeavours in plowing, and for his incouradgement therein," made an 
additional grant. March 12, 1637/8, " There is dewe from Mr Black- 
leach to the countrey, for wine bought & sould by him, four pounds, three 
shillings & 4d" (Mass. Col. Rec, i. 224.) May 29, 1644. " Mr Blackleach 
his petition about the Mores was consented to, to be comitted to the eldrs 
to enforme vis of the mind of God herein, & then further to consider it." 
(Ibid., ii. 67.) The " Mores " were doubtless Moors; and what the General 
Court wished to learn the " mind of God " about was the African slave 
trade. [In 1649 he is described as of Boston, and his wife Elizabeth is 
stated to be " the daughter of INI' Robert Bacon mariner deceased, who 
sometime lived in Wapping & afterward near Cree Church in London." 
(Boston Rec. Com. Rep., xxxii. 223).] The record of Connecticut, in 
1669, mentions his efforts to convert the Indians. He died at Wethers- 
field, August 23, 1683. For his will and other facts, see N. E. Gen. 
Reg., April, 1882, 190; and for letters from him, 4 Mass. Hist. Coll. 
vii. Index. 

'* [See appendix to this chapter. Even if Maverick could claim no title 
to the land from Gorges, he was entitled to consideration as an " Old 
Planter." When Endicott came to Salem, September 6, 1628, he found 
there, as elsewhere on the coast, Englishmen in possession of lands which 
they claimed by occupation. April 17, 1629, the Company in England 
instructed him to permit them to " enjoy not only those lands which 
formerly they have manured, but such a further proportion as by the 
advice and judgment of yourself, and the rest of the Council, shall be 
thought fit for them, or any of them." And in directing him to send 



12 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. II 

colonists to take possession of Massachusetts Bay, the Company added 
tliis " caution . . . that for such of our countrymen as you find there 
planted, so as they be willing to live under our government, you endeavour 
to give them all fitting and due accommodation as to any of ourselves; 
yea if you see cause for it, though it be with more than ordinary privi- 
leges in point of trade." Young, Chronicles of Mass., 145, 150. See ibid., 
74-7G for the regulations of the Company as to the allotment of lands to 
its own people; also Mass. Col. Rec, i. 363, 399, 405. J 



CiiAP. II] APPENDIX 13 



APPENDIX 

[All that is known of Samuel Maverick leads to the inference 
that he had some connection with the Gorges settlement. A yonng 
man of about twenty-two, of ability and education, given the title 
of " Mr." in the early records and grants, and possessed in 1630, 
at least, of some property, Samuel Maverick seems to have be- 
longed to the Gorges group. About the time Eev. Mr. Morell 
returned to England, and Blackstone removed to Boston, he for- 
tified a house at " Winnisime," which lay within the limits of the 
grant to Captain Eobert -Gorges, and, according to Johnson's 
Wonder Working Providence,^ he was assisted in so doing by 
David Thompson, who had been chosen by the Council for New 
England as their agent or attorney to take possession of the 
land in the name of the Council and deliver possession to Cap- 
tain Tiobert Gorges.^ Possibly Captain Gorges, who came over 
in September, 1623, and spent the first winter at Weston's de- 
serted plantation, outside his grant, finding there some huts 
already standing, on his return to England, in 1621, left direc- 
tions with David Thompson, as his agent, to confirm the posses- 
sion of the land by effecting a settlement within his grant, and 
that Winnisimmet was chosen for the purpose as good farming 
land with a southern aspect ; it was also easily defensible, being 
surrounded by river, sea, and marshes, and possessing a valuable 
spring of fresh water not far from the shore on the southern 
slope of the hill. Also it " overlooked the anchorage ground of 
the inner harbor," and the outlet of the Mystic Eiver, — as 
Blackstone's house did the outlet of the Charles,^ — and thus 
might prove a coign of vantage from which to control the trade 
of the bay. 

That David Thompson dwelt with his family on Thompson's 
Island cannot be positively asserted. According to the Court 
record, the son claimed, in 1618, that his father, in 1626, " did 

^ Edition of W. F. Poole, 37. 

== E. Hazard, Hist. Coll. (ed. of 1792), i. 154; Gorges' Description 
(Prince Soc. ed.), chap, xxiii. 



14 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. II 

erect the forme of a habitat" there; if so, it was unsubstantial 
and, apparently, had disappeared before the coming of Winthrop 
in 1630. It was forgotten by "William Blackstone in 1650, though 
he remembered the island well, mentioning that it alone of the 
islands in the bay possessed a natural harbor, and that the 
settlers about the bay kept their hogs there, — doubtless during 
the planting season. Thompson possessed, according to Maverick, 
" a Strong and Large House " enclosed " with a large and high 
Palizado and mounted Gunns " at the mouth of the Piseataqua." 
A statement made by Hubbard is of interest in this connection, 
for Samuel Maverick, who married Thompson's widow, did obtain 
in Noddle's Island (East Boston) and the Chelsea peninsula * 
land which tallies with that which Hubbard mentions, and as- 
suming that Thompson, accompanied by Maverick, came to the 
Bay under the directions of Captain Eobert Gorges or the Coimcil 
for New England, the statement is in accord with all existing 
knowledge of the matter and would tend to place Thompson with 
Maverick at "Winnisimmet. As Hubbard (H.C. 1642) had sources 
of information not open to investigators of the present day, his 
statements are worthy of careful consideration though he was 
not a "critical historian" of the modern type. He wrote that 
David Thompson removed to Massachusetts Bay a year ( ?) after 
his settlement at Piscataqua. "There he possessed himself of 
a fruitful island, and a very desirable neck of land, since con- 
firmed to him or his heirs by the Court of the Massachusetts, upon 
the surrender of all his other interest in New England, to which 
yet he could pretend no other title, than a promise, or a gift to 
be conferred on him, in a letter by Sir Ferdinando Gorges, or 
some other member of the Council of Plymouth." " Probably if 
Captain Eobert Gorges or the Council for New England wished 
to induce David Thompson to leave his house at Piscataqua and 
six thousand acres of land with the " power of Government " 
therein, it would have been necessary to offer some greater induce- 
ments than Thompson's Island. As a trading station it was doubt- 
loss valuable, but as a place of residence during the many months 
of a New England winter, unattractive. The discovery recently 
made that Samuel Maverick married Tliompson's widow and 
hence, on the arrival of the Massachusetts Bay colonists in •1630, 
controlled his claims, affords a clue to the explanation of what 

• 2 Froe. Mass. Hist. Soc, i. 234. 

* See Woofl's Map of Massarlmsetts, 1633, for the peninsula form of 
Winnisimmet, in Youn?, Chronicles of Mass., 389. 

» Hubbard, Hist, of New Eng., 105. 



CiiAr. IT] APPENDIX 15 

lias previously soomod mysterious, — liis extraordinarily large pos- 
sessions and influential position. Noddle's Island alone contained 
twenty times as many acres as were allotted to Blaekstone. 
Thomas Walford, at Charlestown, does not seem to have been 
treated with consideration. 

In connection with Hubbard's statement, with its suggestion 
as to the liberality of Massachusetts, it is of interest to note that 
Noddle's Island was granted to Maverick at the time when Sir 
diristopher Gardiner was intriguing against the Massachusetts 
i^ay Com])any in England. Sir Christoj)her ap])eared in Bristol 
August 15, 1632, ami immediately began to make trouble for the 
colonists, as appears in letters from Thomas Wiggin to " Master 
Downinge" and Sir John Cooke, dated August 31 and Novem- 
ber 19." Sir Ferdinando Gorges and Captain Mason took the 
opportunity jnvsented by these complaints, and those of Thomas 
Morton and Philip KatcliU'e, to petition the King against the 
]\Iassachusetts Bay Government. The matter was considered by 
the Privy Council January 19, 1632/3, when the authority of the 
(Jovcrnment at Boston was confirmed. The result of the case 
before the Council was known in Massachusetts in May, 1633. In 
the meantime the Governor and Assistants, who met April 3, had 
granted to Maverick Noddle's Island, and to Blaekstone fifty 
acres of land in Boston ; and in July " the governour and as- 
sistants sent an answer to the petition of Sir Christopher Gardi- 
ner, and withal a certificate from the old planters concerning the 
carriage of affairs, etc." The following year, in April, 1634, when 
grants of land were made by the General Court to the leading 
men of the colony, John Oldham received five hundred acres. 
The grant to Maverick in April, 1633, was a perpetual lease at 
JL nominal rent. The General Court, at the July session of 1631, 
had given the Governor and Assistants power to lease the islands 
in the bay; hence, apparently, the form of the grant. ^ 

Almost the Mdiole of modern Chelsea, about one thousand 
acres, traces its title back to three men, — Samuel Maverick, Elias 
Maverick, and John Blackleach. There was a difl'erence of but 
two years in the ages of Samuel and Elias Maverick, and Elias 
was in ]\Iassacliusetts as early as the sununer of 1630, the time of 

« 3 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc, viii. 320-324. 

' Bradford, Hist, of Plynioiitli Plantation, cd. of Charles Doane, 
pp. 29G-298; Savage, Winthiop. i. 100, 102, 103, lOfi. In the latter part of 
February, 1032/3, in \Vintliroi)'s diary, is a record whieh seems to show- 
that he heard then of the failure of an attack u])on Massachusetts by 
Gardiner; but see the entry in May. (See Hutchinson, Hist, of Mass., 
ed. 1795, i. 37.) 



16 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. II 

the coming of Winthrop, and the keeping of written records. Yet 
he owned at Winnisimmet only one hundred acres. William 
Blackstone, a bachelor, received but fifty. According to the gen- 
eral regulations of the Company, a settler could claim fifty acres 
for each member of his household.^ The most probable explana- 
tion for the exceptionally large holdings of Samuel Maverick in 
Chelsea and East Boston is that through his marriage with 
Mrs. Thompson there became united under his control the claims 
of a settlement which followed in the wake of Captain Robert 
Gorges' visit to New England. Winnisimmet was evidently pros- 
perous before it was sold by Samuel Maverick and John Black- 
leach in February, 1634/5. The vote of May, 1634, directing 
AVinnisimmet to join itself either to Charlestown or to Boston 
mentions " bowses " there. The first ferry across the harbor 
was kept by a resident there, — Thomas Williams alias Harris, 
who was recognized by the General Court as ferryman at the 
May session of 1631. The tax assessed on Winnisimmet in Jul}^, 
1631, two years after the settlement of Charlestown and one 
year after the coming of Winthrop, was one-sixth that paid 
by Charlestown; in February, 1631/2, over one-seventh that of 
Charlestown and Medford combined; in October, 1633, two-thirds 
that of Medford and one-sixth that of Charlestown, Boston, or 
Eoxbury. The first two levies were to meet the expenses in- 
curred in fortifying Newtown; the last, the general expenses of 
the colony. Further evidence on this point is given by the 
'' Winthrop Map," about 1633.'* There Winnisimmet, Wesaguscus 
(Weymouth), and Agawam (Ipswich) are represented by three 
houses; Salem, Saugus, Charlestown, New town (Cambridge), 
Dorchester by four houses ; Watertown by five houses ; Boston 
by a fort, a windmill, and five houses; Eoxbury by eight houses. 
Single houses are also represented, — Ten Hills, Mr. Cradock's 
at Medford, and Mr. Humphrey's at Saugus. No house is pic- 
tured on Noddle's Island, which is there represented as a well 
wooded isle, — a reminder of the fact that during Maverick's 
ownership the inhabitants of Boston were permitted to cut wood 
there. 

The grant of Agamenticus, in December, 1631, seems further 
evidence of a connection between Gorges and Maverick. At the 
instigation of Lieutenant-Colonel Walter Norton, and with the as- 
sistance of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, a grant of land was made 

* Records of the Company, under date of May 21, 1629. Mass. Col. 
Rec, i. 3C4, 399, 405. 

• Justin Winsor, Nar, and Crit. Hist, of Amer., iii. 380. 



Chap. II] APPENDIX 17 

December 2, 1631, to " Ferdinando Gorges, sonn and heire of 
Jolm Gorges of London" (elder brother and heir to the lands 
and claims of Captain Robert Gorges) ; to several men by the 
name of Norton in England; to Eobert Eainsford, the younger, 
of London; and to eight men of New England, among whom 
was Samuel Maverick Esq.^° W™ Jeffryes gent and John Busley 
gent, both almost beyond a doubt members of Robert Gorges' 
Company, were among the eight New Englanders. Lieutenant- 
Colonel Walter Norton is found, as Mr. Walter Norton, among 
" Those who wish to be freemen," in October, 1630, and was 
admitted, the following May, as Captain Walter Norton; he 
settled at Agamenticus before 1634." Ralphe Glover Merch*, 
dwelling here in 1630, the owner of a shallop, and found with it 
in the company of Elias Maverick, also applied for admission 
in October, 1630, but died before July, 1633, without having taken 
the freeman's oath.^- The other grantees in New England were 
Thomas Graves, engineer, Tho. Coppyn Esq and Joell Woolsey 
gent. Of the latter two nothing is known; their names were 
omitted at the confirmation of the grant, March 2, 1631/2. It is 
not improbable that a number of the old planters, in the main a 
remnant of the Gorges settlement, united to secure this grant, and 
that it was made in 1631 by the Council for New England to the 
heir of Captain Robert Gorges, and to them as a compensation for 
the injury to his and their interests caused by the grant to the 
Massachusetts Bay Company. John Gorges, it is known, had laid 
claim to the territory. He had ignored the grant to Sir Henry 
Rosewell and his associates of March 19, 1627/8, and signed a 
deed to Sir William Brereton in January, 1628/9, a deed de- 
clared by the Massachusetts Bay Company invalid, February 
10, 1629/30. Although Maverick's name is in the list of those 
who wished to be freemen in October, 1630, he did not take the 
oath until October, 1632, after the grant of Agamenticus. Note 
also the visit of the bark Warwick, presumably the bark of that 
name fitted out by Gorges, to Winnisimmet, March 19 to April 9, 
1632.13 

In this connection, considering the question of a possible re- 
lationship between Samuel Maverick and Rev. John Maverick, 
it may be worthy of note that the latter with his followers chose 
for their settlement Dorchester, which lay incontestably beyond the 

" Proc. Amer. Antiq. Soc, April, 1867, 101. 

" Belknap, Hist, of N. H., Appendix vii. ; Gorges' Deseription, chap. xxv. 
" Mass. Col. Rec., i. 78, 82, 106. 
" Savage, Winthrop, i. 71, 72; also 7, 39. 
VOL. I. — 2 



18 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. II 

limits of the grant to Captain Kobert Gorges. If the southern 
bound of his patent was a line due west from the end of Pullen 
Point, the Boston peninsula lay north of this, Dorchester did 
not. When Sir Ferdinando Gorges was intriguing against the 
Colony in England in 1634, the Dorchester people and the con- 
gregation of Eev. Thomas Hooker, which settled first at Mount 
Wollaston but was ordered by the General Court to reinove to 
ZKcw town, began to agitate a removal to Connecticut. The Endi- 
cott and Winthrop colonists were anxious to establish settlements 
Avithin the grant to Captain Gorges, in order to hold the territory 
against him. 

Possibly, Maverick came to America with Captain Christopher 
Levett, who arrived at David Thompson's house at Piscataqua in 
the winter or early spring of 1623/4. Captain Levett found there 
"Captain Robert Gorges, — who had arrived twenty days before 
in a little ship of Weston's that he had seized at Plymouth, — and 
learned that he had been appointed a member of Captain Gorges' 
Council. Levett staid at David Thompson's a month, complain- 
ing that the snow interfered with his siin^eys, and then, in two 
open boats, coasted with his men along the Maine shore in snow 
and fog as far as Sagadahock, seeking a place to establish a settle- 
ment. If Maverick was of this party, it would explain his entry 
under the heading Sagadahock quoted above. ^* Levett, it is to 
be observed, bestowed especial praise upon Agamenticus, of which 
place Maverick was one of the grantees. Captain Levett left 
some of his men in New England, intending to return, but was 
unable to do so. Compare with Maverick's Brief e Discription, 
Captain Levett's A Voyage into New England.^^ 

J. P. Baxter, in his volume on Christopher Levett, printed by 
the Gorges Society," states, on the authority of Frank W. Hackett, 
that Maverick married the widow of David Thompson, and that 
her father was William Cole of Plymouth, England. The fol- 
lowing facts confirm this statement. Among the notarial records 
of William Aspinwall are copies of an indenture, dated April 1, 
1615, between " W™ Cole of Plymouth in the County of Devon 
Shipwright " and " David Thompson of Plymouth aforesaid 
Apothecary & Ems his now wife " and " daughter of the said 
W™"; also of a receipt, dated January 3, 1625/6, for money paid 

" Supra, note 6 to cliap. ii. 

" Coll. Maine Hist. Soc, ii. 74. For the date of Maverick's arrival in 
New England see 2 Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc, i. 24G; 4 Coll. xMass. Hist. Soc., 
vii. 318. 

" Page 90, note 42. 



Chap. II] APPENDIX Id 

Cole by his " daughter Amies Thomson," for which he was to 
account to her husband, David Thomson. These papers were 
brought to Aspinwall, May 26, 1648, " by the said Amies or 
Emes.'"' ^^ Mrs. Amias Maverick, in her letter of November 20, 
1635, speaks of her " ffatherles children." This letter is addressed 
to Mr, Robert Trelawny, merchant, at Plymouth, England, where 
the father of the writer seems to have been then living.^* Decem- 
ber 25, 1643, John Thompson, who regained Thompson's Island 
as son and heir of David Thompson, assigned a bill to " my fEather 
m"" Samuell Maverick." "] 

" Boston Rec. Com. Rep., xxxii. 128-130. 

" Maine Hist. Soc, Doe. Hist, of Maine, iii. 76-78. 

"• Boston Rec. Com. Rep., xxxii. 70; see also 36, 326, 327. 



20 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. Ill 



CHAPTEK III 

SAMUEL maverick's PALISADE HOUSE 

OF Samuel Maverick at Winnisimmet between 1625 and 
the coming of the Puritans to Salem in 1G28 we know 
little ; nothing of Blackstone at Boston, or of Thompson in 
connection with the island of his name in the hay. They were 
young men ; Thompson was probably married in England. 
They w^ere Episcopalians, neighbors, and, with Thomas Wal- 
ford at Charlestown, apparently sole possessors of the lands 
in the upper bay.^ At Winnisimmet, in 1625, Samuel Mav- 
erick " fortified " his Palisade House — " The Antientest 
house in the Massachusetts Government." ^ In this house he 
entertained Governor Winthrop and his party of exploration 
when they came up from Salem into Boston Bay, June 17, 
1630;^ and here, August 16, 1631, some of Maverick's 
friends, — among whom was Edward Gibbons (his neighbor 
up the Charles, in what is now Somerville) afterwards a 
noted man, — fell under the displeasure of the Court of 
Assistants and were fined " for abuseing themselues disorderly 
with drinkeing to much stronge drinke aboard the Frend- 
shipp, & att M*" Mailacke his liowse at Winettsem*." "* It was 
while Maverick was living in this house, as Winthrop records, 
December 5, 1633, that " John Sagamore died of the small 
pox, and almost all his people; (above thirty buried by Mr. 
Maverick of Winesemett in one day.) . . . Among others, 

* MaA-erick says that between 1626 and 1633 " wee could not make in 
all three Hundred men in the whole Coiintrey, those scattered a hundred 
and fliftie Jliles assunder " and " all the Houses there, except three or 
fower at New Plymouth, and those which I had could not be valued worth 
2001b." A Briefe Discription of New England, 2 Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc, 
i. 247. 

^ Ibid., 230. 

^ " We lay at Mr. Maverick's." Savage, Winthrop, i. 27. 

* Mass. Col. Rec, i. 90; Discharged, ibid., 243. 



Chap. Ill] SAMUEL JVIAVERICK'S PALISADE HOUSE 21 

Mr. Maverick of Winesemett is worthy of a perpetual remem- 
brance. Himself, his wife, and servants, went daily to them, 
ministered to their necessities, and buried their dead, and took 
home many of their children." ^ 

The precise site of Samuel Maverick's Palisade House is 
rot now determinable. Wood's Map of 1633 places Winnis- 
inunet at the confluence of Mystic and Island End rivers, on 
the estate not included in the Maverick-Blackleach deed to 
Richard Bellingham of February 27, 1634/5. Remains of 
an ancient ferry-way, recently existing near the United States 
pier on the old Samuel Maverick estate, indicate that the 
Winnisimmet Ferry of 1631, granted to him in 1634, had its 
northern landing westerly of Chelsea Bridge, not far from the 
supposed site of his house. Nothing now marks more pre- 
cisely its site unless, possibly, some old elms.^ 

Here Samuel Maverick lived from 1625 until the erection 
of a house at Noddle's Island. On this island, which the 
Court granted him on certain conditions, April 1, 1633, his 
wife is found, November 20, 1635, during her husband's 
absence in Virginia. From this time his history belongs to 
East Boston.'^ 

The life and character of the first permanent settler of 
Winnisimmet, and one of the earliest in Massachusetts Bay, 
are of interest and, after 1634, fairly well known. But his 
pursuits, as those of Blackstone, Walford, and Thompson, 
while sole occupants of the upper bay, are mainly conjectural. 
From kno-wn facts, however, we may infer that Maverick 
traded for furs with the Indians and also with sporadic 
settlers and fishermen along the coast ; he seems to have chosen 
his residence with reference to such trade, for which it was 
especially favorable. He was surrounded by Indians, and once 
incurred their hostility, but finally gained their friendship. 
At the mouth of the Mystic, and not far from that of the 
Charles, — rivers rising in the most populous seats of the 
Indians, — he was near the point M'hich they passed in going 

" Savage, Winthrop, i. 119, 120. [See appendix to this chapter. No. l.T 

' [See Appendix 2.] 

• Now the subject of special study by Frank W. Hackctt. Esq., of 
Washington, D. C, the results of which are expected in a volume of the 
Prince Society. 



22 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. Ill 

to Kevere Beach, where lately existing shell heaps indicated 
their presence in great numbers.* In 1630 he o^\^led a pin- 
nace which, with Winthrop and Dudley, he sent to Narragan- 
sett for corn.^ Though living in Xew England, Maverick 
retained his English connection, — for about 1630 he, " S'' 
Ferdinando Gorges, M"" Godfrey, Alderman ffoote of Bristol " 
and others were grantees of York in Maine, and of lands 
adjacent, on which " at great Cost and Charges wee setled 
many ffamilies." ^" 

[Maverick's conduct and writings evince a strong and dis- 
ciplined mind. He rendered essential serA^ces to Winthrop's 
company when sorely needed; and his hospitality, courteous 
bearing, and humane acts were remembered years later, even 
when ecclesiastical animosities had arrayed the colonists into 
hostile parties, in one of which he was conspicuous. Though, 
as he said of himself, as well as of some others, he was in " no 
way dissonant from ye best Reformation in England, and de- 
sireing alsoe to have a body of Lawes to be Established and pub- 
lished to prevent Arbitrary Tiranny," yet they were deprived 
of English immunities, subjected to oppressive fines, imprison- 
ment, and indignities, which excuse any resentment afterwards 
shown towards the government which inflicted them.^^ He 
died between October 15, 1069, and May 15, 1076. 

« The General Court. October 10. 1620, gave to the joint stock of the 
company the exclusive trade in furs for seven years, — a trade denied to 
their own planters. Mass. Col. Rec, i. .55, 389. It is doubtful if this rule 
Avas enforced. [See ibid., i. .3S9, 390, 399.] 

* [Transferred to Appendix 3.] 

" A Briefe Discription of New England, quoted above, 233. [See 
supra, appendix to chap. ii. The land at Agamenticus was granted 
December 2, 1C31, to thirteen men, of whom Maverick was one; but 
Mr. Godfrey and Alderman Foote were not. Edward Godfrey is said to 
have been the first settler (about 1030) ; and March 22, 1637, the grant 
of December, 1631, was '• renewed againe unto Edward Godfrey and others 
therein named." (Proc. Amer. Antiq. Soc, April, 1807, 101, 10.5, 130; 
Coll. Maine Hist. Soc., ix. 344.) The Ferdinando Gorges in the 
grant of December, 1631, was " Ferdinando Gorges, sonn and heire of 
John Gorges of London, Esqr." His grandfather. Sir Ferdinando, died 
in 1647, and his father, .John Gorges, in 1057; the grandson was spoken 
of as " Sir Ferdynando Gorges " in .January, 1663/4, by John Mason in 
a letter to .John Vinthrop, Jr. (4 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc, vii. 424; N. E. 
Gen. Reg., xxix. 46.)] 

" Maverick's A Briefe Discription of Xew England. 240. [See Savage, 
Winthrop. ii. 202, 278-295. 301. This was in 1646. See also C. F. Adams, 
Three Episodes in Mass. Hist.] 



Chap, in] SAMUEL :MAVEIIICK'S PALISADE HOUSE 23 

The later history of Samuel Maverick's estate at Winnis- 
inmiet not included in the Maverick-Blackleach deed to Bell- 
ingham, and now belonging to the United States, is as follows : 
" Upward of twenty yeares " before 1662, Samuel Maverick 
sold twenty acres to William Stitson by deed only known as 
recited in the latter's conveyance of the same to Elias Mav- 
erick in 1662.^- There is no known conveyance of the 
remaining hundred acres, but as they were occupied by 
Elias Maverick, and disposed of by his will, his title is 
unquestionable.-^ "^ 

William Stitson,^ - from 1632,^^ lived in Charlestown, where 
he was of the church, March 22, 1633, and deacon from 
October, 1659, until his death, — thirty-one years and five 
months, as is inscribed on his gravestone. He was a freeman 
June 11, 1633, of the Artillery Company 164S, and repre- 
sentative 1667—1671.^^ His wife Elizabeth, widow of Thomas 
Harris, died February 16, 1670, aged ninety-three; and he 

" William Stilson of Charlestown to Elias Maverick: "All yt pareell 
of land at winesimit. wch upward of twenty yeares I have quietly posessed 
by graunt and purchasse from ^Mr Samuell Maverick : all which land is 
twenty acres, or thereabouts b? it more or lesse being bounded on the 
East by a ffenc-e of Railes betwixt it and the farme of the worshipfull 
rar Richard Beligham esquire: and on ye west joyning to the land of ye 
aforesd Elias IMaverick on ye North by a Creeke running towards powder 
home hill and on ye South by the salt water." Sth of ye 2d month, 1662, 
Wife Elizabeth releases dower. ( Suff. Deeds, L. 4, f. 40.) [Xo precise 
date can be inferred for the purchase by Stilson. He owned it in Xovem- 
l>er, 1640. See the boundaries of the Bellingham estate in Boston Rec 
Com. Rep., ii. 57. See Mass. Col. Rec, ill. 422, 423; iv. PL i. 2SS.] 

'^ [See Appendix 4 to this chapter.] 

'* Variously spelt Steedson. Stidson. Stilson. Stetson. Studson. Stutson, 
Steedsonne, Stitson: the last by himself in his signature to a deed in my 
possession. 

^^ [This is from Wvman: Frothingham places him under the year 1637. 
I'ntil Maiden was settled, the church nearest to Winnisimmet was in 
Cliarlestown. and Elias Maverick, as well as Stitson. attended church 
there. The deposition of William Stitson taken June 15. 16S0. shows 
that he married the widow of Thomas Williauis alias Harris lietween May, 
1631, and September. 1634: and lived at Winnisimmet. Possibly he was 
in Chariest o^^-n before his marriage. (See infra, chap, xxiii. : also xxii. 
note 4.) Wyman gives his possessions in Charlestown under the year 163S. 
In 1642 he was chosen selectman; he served Charlestown twenty years in 
that capacity.] 

" Atx?ording to Frothingham (p. S7). he was represent4iti\-e for six 
years, — tirst in 1646, and for the last time in 1671. [He was electetl 
Clerk of the Market in 1646, and a representative for the first time in 1667. 
Mass. Col. Rec, iv.] 



24 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. Ill 

married the widow of Captain Francis l^orton AiTgiist, 1670. 
His will is dated April 12, 1688, and be died April 11, 1691, 
in his ninety-first year. Though chiefly resident of Charles- 
town, I have given some particulars of his life, because he 
probably lived at one time at Winnisimmet, on the Samuel 
Maverick estate, a part of which he certainly o\\'ned. In 1631 
Thomas Harris kept the ferry between Winnisimmet, Charles- 
town, and Boston. As has been said, Stitson married his 
widow, and continued the ferry. He had acquired an interest 
in it before 1635, when he sold it to Richard Bellingham, 
owner of the reversion.^ ^ His allotment at Pullen Point was 
January 8, 1637/8,^^ on what grounds, unless he was then a 
citizen of Boston, it is difficult to conceive. Besides, in Oliver's 
adjoining allotment, he is called " William Stidson of Wyne- 
semitt:"^^ Nor is his name found among the inhabitants 
of CharlestOAvn, January, 1634/5.^^ He may have been then 
living at Winnisimmet, though November 30, 1640, he was 
styled as of Charlestown.^^ 

Elias Maverick, born about 1604, died September 8, 1684, 
aged eighty. Probably he was a brother of Samuel Maverick, 
and possibly came over with him in 1624. Found at Win- 
nisimmet in 1630,^- he was admitted to the Charlestowni 
church February 9, 1632/3,^-^ and took the Freeman's oath 
the following June. In 1635 or earlier, it would seem, he 
married Anne Harris, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth. 
She joined the same church October, 1639, and died at Read- 
ing September 7, 1697, aged eighty-four. Her gTavestone is 
at Reading.^'* He was of the Artillery Company, 1654.^^ 
He was buried at CharlestowTi, where his gravestone was 

" Infra, chap. xxii. 

" [The allotment was recorded on that date; it may have been made 
two years earlier. See chap. vi. Appendix l.J 

" Infra, chap. vi. 

*° Frothinfrhani, 84, note. 

" Infra, chap. vii. 

« Mass. Col. Rec, i. 78. 

" Wynian. 

" Ibid. 

'^ [The General Court, at its May session in 1GG4, confinned Elias 
Maverick as ensign of the North Company of the militia in Boston; in 
1671 it granted his request for a dismissal from the place of ensign. 
Mass. Col. Rec, iv. Pt. ii. 105, 505.] 



Chap. Ill] SAMUEL MAVERICK'S PALISADE HOUSE 25 

lately, but not now, to be seen. Wyman gives him no estate 
in Charlestown, nor does it appear that he ever lived there. 
For the most of his adult life he lived where he died, on the 
westerly part of the Maverick estate (now belonging to the 
United States). Winnisimmet Ferry, starting from his 
grounds, touched at Charlestown, where he found his most 
convenient church relations.^*' That he was a legal resident 
of Boston January 8, 1637/8, is clear from his allotment at 
Pullen Point.^' He owned twenty acres at Hog Island. At 
his death, in 1684, he o^vned that part of Winnisimmet not 
included in the Maverick-Blackleach deed of 1635 to Richard 
Bellingham. By the deed from Stitson to him, April 8, 1662, 
it apj)ears that he then owTied the westerly part of this estate. 
But there is no recorded conveyance from Samuel to Elias 
Maverick ; and the conjecture is that at some time before 
1642 title was by deed unrecorded.^^ 

The children of Elias Maverick, presumably born at Win- 
nisimmet, were, according to Wyman,^^ (1) John, born 3, bap- 
tised 27 (12 mo.) 1635/6. (2) Abigail, Aug. 10 (14) 1637; 
m. Matthew Clark. (3) Elizabeth, 2 (4) 1639; m. John 
Johnson. (4) Sarah, 20 (12) 1640/1; m. [Samuel] ^^ Wal- 
ton. (5) Elias, 17 (1) 1643/4. (6) Peter, of Boston. 
(7) Mary, m. Aaron Way, junr of Winnisimmet.^^ (8) Ruth, 
m. Francis Smith, son of Lieut. John Smith of Winnisimmet,^- 
1679. (9) Paul, b. June 10, 1657. (10) Rebecca, Jan. 1, 
1659/60; m. [George] Thomas. 

=" [See 3 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soe., i. 257-264. In 1678 Elias Maverick was 
active in securing the election of Daniel Russell to the pastorate of the 
Charlestown church.] 

^' Infra, chap. vi. 

"* [Possibly Elias Maverick received this land as an "Old Planter"; 
there was a difference of but two years in the ages of Elias and Samuel 
Maverick, and the former was found here in 1630, when written records 
begin.] 

^ Page 661. [To these should be added James, the inventory of whose 
estate was sworn to by the father, October 31, 1671. Suff. Prob. Rec, 
L. 7, f. 158.] 

'" [November 3, 1696, Samuel and Sarah Walton, George and Rebecca 
Thomas, Aaron and INIary Way, Francis and Ruth Smith, signed a release, 
acknowledging the receipt of legacies from their father, Elias Maverick. 
Suff. Deeds. L. 17, f. 351.] 
" Wyman, 1002. 

'^ lUd., 876. 



26 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. Ill 

Elias Maverick's estate at "Winnisimmet remained in pos- 
session of his heirs ^^ until 170i), when it passed to John 
Brintnall,''^ \\ho for fifteen years had been lessee of the ferry 
and keeper of the adjacent inn. As early as 1740, probably 
much earlier, the ]\Iaverick estate had been divided into two 
farms by a line running from the Mystic River northerly 
over the hill; and between 1740 and 1753 both farms were 
sold by John Brintnall to his son ^^ Benjamin.''^ In 1769 
Benjamin sold the westerly farm, and in 1772 the easterly, 
to Jonathan Green.^^ 

January 31, 1701, Green sold his estate to Aaron Dexter 
for £900,^^ It then consisted of a hundred and sixteen acres, 
on which were two dwelling-houses, four barns, and out- 
houses ; ^^ " Reserving nevertheless out of the Premises " an 
acre and a half of " Marsh Land where a Dam or Dike now 
is, from said Island River to the Upland of the Premises ; — ■ 

°' [See Appendix 5.] 

^* Suff. Deeds, L. 24, ff. 118, 191 ; L. 62, f. 117. [For John Brintnall as 
an innkeeper, see chaps, vii. and xxiv.] 

^ [See Appendix C] 

'" Suff. Deeds, L. 61, f. 80; L. 79, f. 131; L. 82, ff. 267, 268. On the 
northerly side of this estate, between the head of High Street and Broad- 
way, was lately an old decayed tomb said to be that of tlie Brintnall 
family. It was also said that the strip of land running from the tomb to 
Broadway was reserved as a right of way thereto; but if by deed recorded, 
I have overlooked it. [The tomb is mentioned in the deed of 1772, cited 
below; the eastern boundary of the land convej-ed therein is so drawn as 
to leave a right of way from the tomb to the "country road," or the present 
Bi'oadway. Its site is marked on the " Plan of the Naval Hospital Estate 
in Chelsea," by S. P. Fuller, in the Massachusetts Archives. In the 
"Executors Account" of the estate of John Brintnall, 17.31, is a charge 
of 7s. for "Making a Drein for the Tomb." Suff. Prob. Files, 6157.] 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 118, f. 173; L. 120, f. 232; L. 356, f. 68, [See ap- 
pendix 7.] 

^ [Subject to a mortgage to Dr. Ebenezer Putnam of Salem for £450.] 

^° [When the direct tax of 1798 was assessed, the estate was divided 
into two farms. Charles Stearns was tenant of the westerly 90 acres, 
Avhich, with the housing thereon, was valued at $3,190; Daniel Mason, of 
tlie eastern 27 acres, A'alued at $975. The house of Charles Stearns cov- 
ered 741 feet, was two stories, and liad fifteen windows. There was a 
"Kitchen," which covered 558 feet, was one story, and had nine windows; 
also a woodhonse that covered 495 feet, was two stories high, and had 
two windows. Tliese, with an acre of ground, were valued at $715. Tliere 
was a corn barn; also three barns measuring respectively 70 x 34, 50 x 30, 
30 X 20; also a wharf 63 x 28 feet. The house of Daniel Mason was de- 
scribed as a " Verry Old House," and was valued at $40; there was a 



CiiAP. Ill] SAMUEL MAVERICK'S PALISADE HOUSE 27 

And also saving and reserving twelve feet in wedth on each 
side of the said Dam all the way from the said Island End 
Eiver to said Upland, Adjoining to said Acre and an half of 
Marsh." ^^ 

Dr. Dexter sold to Kichard Williams, Samuel Chittenden, 
and others several lots on the westerly side of Broadway, 
from Beacon Street southerly;"*^ and for $18,000 the re- 
mainder (one hundred fifteen acres) to the United States, 
September 22, 1823, confirmed December 4, 1826. The N"aval 

Hospital was erected in 1835, and the Marine Hospital in 

1857.^2 

barn 30 x 20, and " one Ian House " 50 x 24. Direct Tax of 1798, at the 
N. E. Gen. Society.] 

" [See Appendix 8.] 

*' [Aaron Dexter, to Salem Turnpike and Chelsea Bridge Corporation, 
July 4, 1804, a lot 82 x 132 feet, on the westerly side of Broadway. April 
30, 1805, for $400 each, two lots of the same size as the foregoing, on 
either side thereof, — that to Williams adjoining it on the southwest, 
that to Chittenden on the southeast. A strip of land three rods wide lay 
between these three lots and the eastern boundary of the estate. Hop- 
kins' Atlas, iv. Plate C, shows their location. Suff. Deeds, L. 214, f. 17; 
L. 220, f. 123; L. 212, f. 27. Presumably the lot belonging to the 
corporation was intended for the gate-keeper, as the company in 1805 
requested the town to discontinue the old road along the shore from the 
ferry landing to Dr. Dexter's gate, and, failing therein, proposed to move 
the gate to the bridge, wher.e it stood when the survey of the United States 
Hospital grounds was made by S. P. Fuller, in 1827.] 

" [Transferred to Appemdix 9.] 



28 



HISTORY OF CHELSEA 



[Chap. Ill 



APPENDIX 1 



Who " Mr. Maverick of Winesemett " was, and the site of his 
Palisade House, have troubled historians. Edward Johnson's 
Wondcr-Working Providence Says : " On the North side of 
Charles Eiver, thoy [Winthrop's company in 1630] landed neare 
a small Island, called Noddells Island, where one Mr. Samuel 
MaverecTc then living, a man of a very loving and curteous be- 
haviour, very ready to entertaine strangers, yet an enemy to the 
Peformation in hand, being strong for the Lordly Prelaticall 
power, on this Island he had built a small Fort with the helpe 
of one Mr. David Tompson, placing therein foure Murtherers to 
protect him from the Indians " ; ^ but see Samuel Maverick's 
Palisade House, by Mellen Chamberlain.^ The question was 
settled by Maverick himself. [In order to reconcile the statement 
of Johnson that the fort was built by Maverick on Noddle's Island 
(East Boston), and Maverick's own statement, that in 1660 it 
was still standing at Winnisimmet (Chelsea), it has been sug- 
gested that the term Winnisimmet included the island (East 
Boston) as well as the mainland (Chelsea). There is no warrant 
for such an assumption. When Maverick became a resident of 
the island, he called himself Samuel Maverick of Noddle's Island,^ 
and his wife,, in November, 1635, nine months after the sale of 
Winnisimmet to Eichard Bellingham, dated her letter from 
'' Nottells Hand in Massachusetts Bay." Before 1635, the refer- 
ence is always to Winnisimmet in connection with Mr. Maverick; 
after 1635, to Noddle's Island. 

It seems certain that Samuel Maverick was living at Win- 
nisimmet when the colonists arrived in 1630. Winthrop wrote, 
under date of December 24, 1630, that three of his servants were 
driven by the wind upon Noddle's Island and forced to spend the 
night there without fire or food ; this would not have been the 
case if Samuel Maverick had been living then on the island in- 
stead of at Winnisimmet.* In July, 1631, Noddle's, Thompson's, 

^ 2 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc, ii. 86. See Sumner, East Boston, 82-85. 

" 2 Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc, i. 360 et seq. 

^ Boston Rcc. Com. Rep., xxxii. 48, 70, 117, etc. 

* Savage, Winthrop, i. 39. 



Chap. Ill] APPENDIX 1 29 

and other islands were placed in the hands of the Governor and 
Assistants, " to be lett & disposed of by them to helpe towards 
publique charges, & that noe pson w^soeu"" shall make any vse or 
benefitt of any of the said ilelands, by putting on cattell, felling 
wood, raiseing slate, &c, without leaue from the Gou^"" & Assistants 
for the time being"; and in April, 1632, the latter gave to John 
Perkins the exclusive right to shoot or trap fowls on Noddle's 
Island. This action would not have been taken if Samuel Mav- 
erick had been living there. An especial grant was necessary 
to insure Noddle's Island to Samuel Maverick, and this was 
not made until April, 1633. In the meantime Winnisimmet was 
already in his possession, confirmed to him, presumably, by the 
officers of the Company under its regulations as to " old planters." 
Samuel Maverick was living on Noddle's Island when Edward 
Johnson settled at Charlesto^vn in 1636; this may account for 
the statement in the Wonder-Working Providence. 

As to Winthrop, Johnson says he landed " neare a small Island," 
— presumably at Mr. Maverick's, as he was entertained by him. 
Although the natural inference from the passage quoted is that 
Maverick was then living on the island, Johnson may not have 
intended to convey that idea. Presumably Samuel Maverick's 
residence on Noddle's Island dates from the year 1635 ; it could 
not have been earlier than the summer of 1633. Note also in 
this connection that the Winthrop map, about 1633, pictures 
" Nottles Island " as wooded, and places no house thereon, while 
a group of houses appears at Winnisimmet. 

The following order by the General Court which met March 4, 
1634/5, is of interest in this connection: "It is ordered, that M"" 
Sam" MaQacke shall, before the last of Decemb'' nexte, remove his 
habitacon, for himself & his ffamily, to Boston, &, in the meane 
tyme, shall not giue intertainem* to any strangers for longer tyme 
then one night, without leaue from some Assistant; & all this to 
be done vnder the penalty of c'." Considering Maverick's reputa- 
tion for hospitality ( Josselyn writes " Mr Samuel Maverick . . . 
the only hospitable man in all the Country, giving entertainment 
to all Comers gratis''), and the fact that the ferry on the road to 
Lynn had its landing on his grounds, that he had easy access to 
the shipping in the harbor, and owned ships himself, it is not 
surprising that he became an object of suspicion to the colonial 
and town authorities at a time when the charter seemed in danger, 
the arrival of Sir Ferdinando Gorges as general Governor of New 
England was feared, and the colony was being fortified to resist 
him. 



30 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. Ill 

In the years 1634 and 1635 there was a strong movement in 
Enghind for the abrogation of tlie charter of the Massachusetts 
Bay Colony, and the appointment of a royal governor, — a move- 
ment in which Sir Ferdinando Gorges and the Council for New 
England participated. In February, 1633/4, an order was issued 
to Mr. Cradock to bring the patent of the Massachusetts Bay 
Company before the Council. April 28, 1634, a commission was 
issued by the King to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York 
and nine others, giving them powers of control over all New Eng- 
land, including the right to remove governors and revoke letters 
patent " surreptitiously " obtained or " hurtful " to the '' prerog- 
ative royall." Three days later a commission for a general gov- 
ernor of New England was issued, Sir Ferdinando Gorges being 
the governor chosen.^ A ship was building to carry the governor 
to New England. In September, 1634, Winthrop recorded that 
warnings from friends in England — to the effect that ships and 
soldiers were preparing " to compel us, by force, to receive a new 
governour, and the discipline of the church of England, and the 
laws of the commissioners, — occasioned the magistrates and depu- 
ties to hasten our fortifications " ; a statement amply substantiated 
by the records of the General Court for the session beginning in 
September, 1634. At this same Court, as it happened, Winni- 
simmet was placed under the Jurisdiction of Boston. 

In January, 1634/5, the ministers of the Massachusetts Colony, 
convened at the call of the Governor and Assistants, advised re- 
sistance to the rumoured governor " if we were able." The same 
Court which ordered Maverick to remove his habitation to Boston 
appointed a Board of War with extensive powers, including the 
right of life and death over " any that they shall iudge to be 
enemyes to the comonwealth," and to order out troops in case of 
war; ordered that an oath of fidelity should be taken by all men 
over sixteen years of age ; appointed a beacon on Sentry Hill and 
a watchman from April to October; decreed that the fort at 
Castle Island should be fully finished, ordnance mounted and the 
like before any other fortification should be proceeded with; and 
forbade any one to visit a ship without leave from an Assistant 
until it had lain at anchor twenty-four hours, and made it " ap- 
parent y* shee is a ffriend," under pain of confiscation of all his 
estate.'' 

With such an excitement brewing, the town and colonial 

' Palfrey, New England, i. 391-404; Hutchinson, Hist, of Mass., i. 
Appendix 4. 

» Savage, Winthrop, i. 143, 144, 154; Mass. Col. Rcc, i. 125, 13G-140. 



Chap. Ill] APPENDIX 1 31 

authorities, not unnaturally, looked with suspicion on Mr. Mav- 
erick, because of his early relations with Sir Ferdinando Gorges. 
Apparently he found his six months' experience under the juris- 
diction of Boston unpleasant, and decided to sell his lands at 
Winnisimmet. Noddle's Island was not placed under the juris- 
diction of Boston until March 9, 1636/7. In the meantime the 
Massachusetts Bay Government could, at this crisis, scarcely tol- 
erate a man of doubtful loyalty in a place so accessible to the ships 
in the harbor as Noddle's Island. At least Maverick did convey 
to Iiichard Bellingham the lands at Winnisimmet, February 25, 
3634/5, and the General Court, which met a week later, ordered 
him to remove his habitation to Boston. It is interesting to note 
that Blackstone, about this time, left Boston and settled in Cum- 
berland, Ehode Island, within the limits assigned to Lord Gorges 
in the division of land among themselves by the Council for New 
England.^ Also the General Court which ordered Maverick to 
remove to Boston expressed a desire that Mr. Allerton should 
remove from Marble Harbour, and ordered him to appear at 
the next General Court, at which time, in May, 1635, it was re- 
corded that Mr. Allerton had given his housing at Marble Head 
to his son-in-law, Moses Maverick, who also managed, apparently, 
the estate of Samuel Maverick during the latter's absence in 
A^irginia the following winter, as he then paid to the General 
Court the rent for Noddle's Island. 

But the danger passed. A few weeks after the order directing 
Maverick to remove his habitation to Boston, that is, on June 16, 
1635, Winthrop recorded ^ that it was certified by " a letter from 
the Lord Say, and report of divers passengers," that the " great 
ship to send over the general governour . . . being launched, fell 
in sunder in the midst." Two months later, August 17, 1635, a 
ship arrived, bringing word that as it lay near Bristol, on May 27, 
Sir Ferdinando Gorges came on board, asked if there were pas- 
sengers bound for Massachusetts, and assured the Rev. Daniel 
Maud of " his good will to the people there in the Bay, and 
promised that, if he ever came there, he would be a true friend 
unto them." ^ Inasmuch as the Council for New England was still 
seeking the revocation of the charter of the Colony,^" such promises 

^ November 10, 1C34, a rate of six shillings was assessed on every 
householder in Boston to pay him, and he probably left Boston the fol- 
lowing Jime. Young, Chronicles of Mass., 170, note. 

« i. 161. 

" Journal of Richard Mather, Young, Chronicles, 451. 

" Records of the Council for New England in Proc. Amer. Ant. Soc., 
April, 1867; Hubbard, Hist, of New Eng.,' 180, 226-231. 



32 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. Ill 

were of somewhat dubious value, but the destruction of the ship 
which shouki have brouglit him was a certain boon. The Gen- 
eral Court, which met September 3, lG3o, voted, " The order that 
enioyned M"" Sam" MaQacke to remove his habitac(')n to Boston 
before the last of Decemb"" nexte is repealed." It also rescinded 
the order as to visiting ships in the harbor. In Xovember, Mrs. 
Amias Maverick was living on Xoddle's Island, as she dated a 
letter there on November the 20th. ^^ 

It is interesting to note, however, that Samuel ]\Iaverick went 
that autumn to Virginia and remained there for nearly a year, 
not returning until August 3, 1636. Boston was apparently will- 
ing to welcome his return, as, under date of April, 1636, Winthrop 
wrote there was some thought of sending the " Blessing " to 
Virginia " for Mr. Maverick and his corn." Certainly by the 
summer of 1636 all danger from Sir Ferdinando Gorges had 
passed. George Vaughan wrote from I^ondon in April that he 
had no encouragement as to New England, that " they were quite 
could in that matter, Mr. Mason being ded and Sr Ferdinando 
minding only his one divityon." ^-] 

" Doc. Hist, of Maine, iii. 76-78. 

" Belknap, "Hist, of N. H., i. Appendix xi. See C. F. Adams, Three 
Episodes of Mass. Hist, for further information as to the general 
governorship. 



Chap. Ill] APPENDIX 2 33 



APPENDIX 2 

[In 1678 there were two farmhouses standing on the present 
hospital grounds, and these continued, apparently, for over one 
hundred years, as two houses appear on the direct tax of 1798. 
Tlie easterly one was then described as a " verry old house," and 
was valued at only forty dollars; the westerly was the principal 
dwelling on the estate. The site of the latter is marked by a well, 
wliile the easterly house stood a little below a spring of fresh 
water. A spring is marked on the plan of the Naval Hospital 
grounds, by S. P. Fuller, dated December, 1827;^ and in the 
spring of the year a rill of water still descends the hillside from 
this site toward Broadway. In 1681 the spring was deemed so 
valuable that Elias Maverick, in dividing his estate among his sons 
by will, provided that a way should be left open to the spring for 
the watering of the cattle, and that half an acre should be left in 
common about it. Trumbull interprets the name Winnisimmet to 
mean " at the good spring." - Doubtless the first house at Win- 
nisimmet was located near a spring of fresh water. This was also 
a defensible position. The westerly farmhouse was on low land, 
while the .easterly was on the hillside, controlling the only point 
at which access to it could be had from the mainland without 
crossing swamp or river, — the course followed later by the 
road from Lynn to Winnisimmet ferry. This can be seen by 
following the line of marsh traced on the maps of the Naval 
Hospital grounds in 1827, and of the Ferry Farm, as recorded 
by the AVinnisimmet Company.^ The easterly house stood on 
land which Samuel Maverick sold to William Stitson, keeper of 
the ferry previous to August, 1635, later a resident of Charles- 
town; from him the title passed to Elias Maverick by deed re- 
corded in 1662; he in turn conveyed it to his son Elias in 1678. 
The westerly farmhouse was on the one hundred acres of land 
lying west of this, of which there is no record until Elias Maverick 
devised it by will in 1681 ; it seems reasonable to assume that it 

^ Mass. Archives. Maps and Plans, 1826. 
' New English Canaan, Prince Society Publications, xiv. 229. 
^ Suff. Deeds, L. 351, f. 1.5.3. See also infra, the map of Chelsea, 
showing the location of the Bellingham farms. 
VOL. I. — 3 



34 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. Ill 

was the land confinncd to him as an " old planter." In 1635, or 
earlier, Elias Maverick married Anne Harris, the stepdaughter 
of William Stitson, the ferryman. The westerly house may have 
dated from this marriage. Elias Maverick was living there at the 
time of his death, in 1684, It is known that more than one house 
stood at Winnisimmet before the estate was sold to Eichard 
Bellingham in February, 1634/5/ and that in addition to Samuel 
Maverick, his wife, his children, and his servants, William Stitson, 
the ferryman, was living there with his family. Maverick may 
have lived in the house described six months after the sale as the 
farmhouse of Eichard Bellingham. What is supposed to have 
been the oldest house on the Ferry Farm of Governor Bellingham 
stood a very little east of the house below the spring,-"* and the 
Winthrop plan (circa 1633) places at Winnisimmet one large 
house, and two smaller houses west of it. All is conjecture. 

However, the first house built doubtless stood near a spring, 
and as Maverick states that it was still standing in 1660, it seems 
reasonable to assume that it was the house mentioned in the deed 
of 1678, and that it was occupied in the early days of the colony 
by the ferrymen at Winnisimmet, Thomas Williams alias Harris, in 
1631, and William Stitson later. The road to the ferry passed its 
door." For the benefit of any who may wish more exact informa- 
tion as to the site the following items are added. In 1678 the 
western boundary of the land conveyed by Elias Maverick, Senior, 
to his son Elias, ran from a point one rod west of the northwest 
corner of the house " unto the Marsh upon the backside of the hill 
North-East " in such a way as to include fifteen acres of upland, 
— the eastern boundary being the farm of Samuel Bellingham. 
The spring is not mentioned therein, but in 1681 it was described 
as " the p])rii)g that is aboue his house." Below the house, toward 
the sea, lay the garden. 

There may have been more than one spring on the hillside. 
August 22, 1836, the Winnisimmet Company, in conveying Lot 6 
on Chestnut Street, near the United States Hospital grounds, on 
the northeast side of the hill, reser\^ed " the reservoir of water 
on said lot," and the right " to lead water into the same from the 
springs & sources above " ; also a " right to use and take away the 
water," and " to lay suitable pipes and conduits " for said pur- 
pose.'^ It is said that this water was carried to Chelsea House, 

* See appendix to chap. ii. 

" See that marked Tav. on the plan in Suff. Deeds, L. 351, f. 153. 

' Infra, Appendix 9. 

' Suff. Deeds, L. 839, f. 198. 



CiiAP. Ill] APPENDIX 2 35 

then a place of public resort, formerly the mansion house of 
Samuel Watts. Also in 1836 Sarah Green, who had lived in 
1785 in the eastern house, on what is now the Naval Hospital 
estate, as a nurse in the family of Jonathan Green, testitied that 
she went on the Ferry Farm '' to the spring for water several 
times a day while I resided in Chelsea." As she was seventy-one 
years of age in 1836, and had not visited Winnisimmet for fifty 
years, she may have forgotten the exact site of the spring she 
visited. So far as the records show, there was no change in the 
western boundary of the Ferry Farm from its purchase by Richard 
Bellingham, in 1635, until after its purchase by the Winnisimmet 
Company, in 1831. J 



36 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. Ill 



APPEXDIX 3 

One of Maverick's pinnaces was taken by Dixy Bull, the noted 
pirate, against whom an expedition was fitted out, and for which 
another of his pinnaces was chosen. The cost was " Paid by a bill 
from Mr. Samuel Maverick, being- husband and mercliant of the 
pinnace, for a month's wages, to Elias Maverick, £2, Paid for 
victuals upon his account, £3 5s." ^ [Samuel Maverick had been 
one of the grantees of Agamenticus in December, 1631.^ When 
the patent was confirmed in March, 1632, some names were 
dropped and four were added, — " Seth Bull, Cittizen and Skinner 
of London, Dixie Bull, Matthew Bradley of London, Gen*, and 
John Bull, Son of the said Seth." ^ Immediately thereafter, ap- 
parently, a ship was sent forth commanded by Dixie Bull; but it 
was seized by the French, if the report which came to Winthrop 
may be trusted, and Bull turned pirate.* Possibly this explains 
AVinthrop's record in December, 1632, that the pirates, besides 
promising future good behavior, " had given another pinnace 
in exchange for that of Mr. Maverick, and as much beaver and 
otter as it was worth more." ^ A few months later, however, 
Maverick's pinnace was sent out " to take Dixie Bull." Win- 
throp reported that " after she had been forth two months, she 
came home, having not found him. After, we heard he was 
gone to the French." ^ Clap said : " These Men fled Eastward, 
and Bull himself got into England; but God destroyed this 
wretched Man." "^ 

vGovernor Dudley wrote to the Countess of Lincoln : " About 
the end of Octol)er this year, 1630, I joined with the Governor 
and Mr. Maverecke in sending out our pinnace to the Narragan- 
setts, to trade for corn to supply our wants ; but after the pinnace 

^ Drake, Boston, 148, note. [2 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc, viii. 233.] 
" Supra, appendix to chap. ii. 

* Proc. of Amer. Ant. Soc., April, 18G7, 105. 

* Savage, Winthrop, 1. 79, 90. 
" Ibid., 98. 

* Ibid., 104. 

' Memoirs of Roger Clap, in Young, Chronicles of Mass., 3G3. 



Chap. Ill] APPENDIX 3 37 

had doubled Cape Cod, slie put into the next harbour she found, 
and there meeting with Indians, who showed their willingness to 
truck, she made her voyage there, and brought us a hundred 
bushels of corn, at about four shillings a bushel, which helped 
us somewhat." ^ March 14, 1632, " The bark Warwick arrived at 
K^atascott, having been at Pascataquack and at Salem to sell corn, 
which she brought from Virginia " ; March 19, " she came to 
Winysemett "' ; and on April 9, " the bark Warwick, . and Mr. 
Maverick's pinnace, went out towards Virginia." August 3, 1636, 
" Samuel Maverick, who had been in Virginia near twelve months, 
now returned with two pinnaces, and brought some fourteen 
heifers, and about eighty goats, (having lost above twenty goats 
by the way). One of his pinnaces was about forty tons, of cedar, 
built at Barbathes, and brought to Virginia by Capt. Powell, who 
there dying, she was sold for a small matter." ^^'\ 

» Young, Chronicles of Mass., 322, 323. 
' Savage, Winthrop, i. 71, 72. 
" Winthrop, i. 191, 466. 



38 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. Ill 



APPENDIX 4 

Will of Ellas Maverick ^ 

1, Elias Mavericke Senior, of Winnasimmet, within the Towne- 
ship of Boston in the Countie of Suffolke, in New-England, being 
through the mercie of God in a competent measure of health, & 
vnderstandinge, (though aged, & know not the tyme of my dis- 
solution w^^ cannot be longe) being desirous to put my house in 
order, so that as much as in me lyeth all controversies about my 
outward estate after my decease may be p''^vented Doe make this 
]ny last will & Testament (& hereby revoke all former wills & 
Bequests) in manner & fforme ffoUowinge. 

Imprimis I resigne vp my Soule, to Almighty God, my Creator & 
Eedeemer & my Bodie to be decently interred, according to the 
discretyon of the Survivinge. And for my tempall estate I thus 
& thus dispose of it. ffirst of all I giue vnto my Beloued wife Anna, 
all my temporall estate, both in land houses and mooueables, 
(after due debts & ffunerall charges discharged) during her natu- 
rall life, if she remayne a widdow, otherwise to enioy one third 
during her natural life pvided also, that she shal freely consent, 
to those termes that I shall hereafter expresse. 
It I giue to my son Elias, ffiue acres of land as an addition to 
the land, & house that I formerly gaue him, as also that out- 
house, that I built, not farre to the westward of his house, to 
him, his wife & Children for euer accordinge to the tenor of his 
deedc of Gift, acknowledged & recorded pvided that there shalbe 
at all times, half an acre of land left in comon, about the spring, 
that is aboue his house w^'^ a convenient highway therevnto ffor 
watering of Cattle. 

It. I giue to my son Peter fine pownds starling after my wiues 
decease. 

It. I giue to my son Paul Mavericke twcntie fiue acres of land, 
next vnto my son Elyas his land, w^*^ I wil giue in p'^sent possession 
by deede of gift, to him his wife & Children, pvided that his ffather 
in Law Liu* John Smith (whose daughter Jemimah he married) 

' Stiff. Prob. Files, 1374; A. D. S. with official endorsement of probate. 



Chap. Ill] APPENDIX 4 39 

will giue as a portion to his sayed son in Law with his daughter, 
one halfe of that some of money that the sayd land shalbe prized 
at by indifferent men chosen on either side, w^^ if he refuse to doe, 
then he shall enioy it after his mothers decease. 
It. I giue to my Grand son Jotham Mavericke the son of my son 
John ffiueteene acres of land adioyning on the west syde of my son 
Pauls land, after his Grandmothers decease to him & his heires 
for euer, with this pviso, that he shal haue liberty to sel or alienate 
the same, if he see good, vnto any one or more of his vnckles 
before mentioned but to no other man or men. 
It I giue to my Grand son James Mavericke, the son of my Son 
Peter fiueteene acres of land next vnto my Grandson Jotham, to 
him & his heires ffor euer, w*^ the same pviso that is giuen to his 
Cousin Jotham. 

Be it knowne that my intent, in the division of the aforesayed 
peels of land is, that each of my sons & Grand sons shal haue 
such pportion of marish land, as is answerable to theire quantitie 
of vpland that falls to theire share. 

As for my dwelling house, outhouses, orchard, come ffeild & so 
much land adioyning next the Creeke as will make vp ffourty acres, 
w*^ the orchard & Come ffield & medow pportionable, I giue to my 
fine daughters, either to be sould or let, to each of them an equal 
pportyon, but if my sons Elyas, & Paul, whom I doe make joynt 
Executors of this my Will, will pay vnto each of theire sisters viz : 
Abigaile Oiarke, Sarah Walton, Mary Waye, Euth Smith & Ee- 
beckah Thomas, ffiuety pounds apeece, taking in the mooueables, 
& a quantitie of marish w^^ I haue at Hogiland, of twenty acres 
of lande & vpward, for to helpe pay theise legacies, then the sayd 
housing & land shalbe theirs to enioy, & also they shal pay vnto 
each of my Grand children and Great grand children fine Shillings 
apeece. 

ffurther my will is, that, wheras I am bound by obligation, vnto 
my ffather in law William Stitson, to keepe him sixteene sheepe 
yearel}'', with theire increase, tyl towards winter, & then to be 
left to the same number, during his natural lyfe, that my two sons 
Elyas & Paul my Executors shal make good this engagement after 
their mothers decease & not before, as also that the former lega- 
cies shal not be payed til that tyme. 

As for my servant Jonas Holmes I giue the remaynder of his 
t\Tne vnto my deare wife if She Hue so long, or else to my Execu- 
tors. & hauing forgotten, to express Euth Johnson my Grand 
daughter, that now lines with me, I leaue it with her Grand 
mother to doe as she pleaseth. 



40 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. Ill 

And I desire, & intreate, & appoynt, my trusty & welbeloued 
ITriends my ft'atherinlaw Deacon William Stitson, Aron AYay 
Senio?", & William Ireland Senior, to be Ouerseers of this my Will 
& to advise & counsell my Executors. 

The land was measured to be 120 acres, if it fall short, or exeede 
my will is that each diuidend, be pportionably abated or en- 
larged. 

In the PTsence of vs Signed & sealed 

whose names are subscribed this thirteenth of October Anno 

William Ireland Sener Doiii' one thousand six hun- 

John Barnard dred eightie one 

William Ireland Jun p me Elyas Mavericke 

John Senter 

This will exhibited for probate by Elyas Maverick and Paul 
Maverick the two Executo"".^ therein named before the 
County Court sitting in Boston. 6^. Novembr 1684. 
William Ireland Senior and William Ireland Jun? and John 
Senter three of the witnesses Subscribed psonally appearing made 
Oath that they did see and heare Mi" Elias Maverick Signe Seale 
and publish his Instrum* to be his last will and Testam* and that 
he was then of disposing mind to their understanding. Attest^ 

Is* Addington Clrc. 

A TRUE Inventory ^ of the Estate of Elias Mavekick Sen? 

OF WiNNISIMMET DECEASED 

16'!' Septemb' 1684. 

£ : s : d 

Imp'? his wearing Clothes 10 : 00 : 00 

It . one Bedsteed, Bed, Bolster & all other Furniture belonging 

to y«- Bed 6 : 00 : 00 

It . one Bedsteed . 10? chaire & Chest .5? — : 13 : 00 

In another Chamber . Chest and wheeles and other Lumber . 2 : 00 : 00 

It . one Bed and Furniture in the garrett 5 : 00 : 00 

In the Hall . one Bed . Bolster and Furniture belonging to yi^ 

Bed S : 00 : 00 

It . a Trundle Bed with its' Furniture 4 : 00 : 00 

It . Tables, Formes chaires Cushion's & carpet to y? table . . 3 : 00 : 00 

It . two Bibles and other Bookes 2 : 00 : 00 

It . warming pan andirons & other things 1 : 00 : 00 

It . 3 p?^ Sheets w']> Table Linnen 5 : 00 : 00 

It . 2 . guns, sword and bandileers 1 : 00 : 00 

It . 2 . pots . 2 . tramels . 2 . pT- Andirons, 2 . spits, tongs & Fire 

Shovels 3 : 00 : 00 

It . dripping pan, earthen ware & other things . 20? Churn & 

milke vessels . 25» 2 : 05 : 00 

* Suff. Prob. Ree., ix. 203. 



Chap. Ill] APPENDIX 4 41 

It . gridiron and frying pan : 5! Barrells keelers table & 

forme .30? 1 : 1.5 : 00 

It . Cash with other plate 10 : 00 : 00 

It . 2 . Oxen : 6 . Cowes, one bull one heifer, three Calves . 3. 

horses with Fodder 40 : 00 : 00 

It . 30 . Sheep and Lambes £ . 8 : Swine . £7 15 : 00 : 00 

It . Cart and plough with all Furniture belonging thereto & 
horse tacklin with a cros betle & wedges grindstone & 

Sythes -5 : 00 : 00 

It . houses and Land Meadow and upland 700 : 00 : 00 

More one Cow Common in Boston. £820 : 15 : 00 

John Smith 
William Ireland Senr 

Boston: 6o Novembv 1684. 

Elias and Paul Maverick the two Execute? made Oath in County 
Court then sitting that this is a just and true Inventory of the 
Estate of their late Father Elias Maverick dece4 so far as hath come 
to their knowledge and that when more appeares they will cause 
it to be added — 

Attestr Is ■ Addington Clrc 



42 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. Ill 



APPENDIX 5 

[Matthew Clark, avIio married Abigail Maverick, June 4, 
1655, lived first at Winnisimmet, where a daughter, Abigail, was 
born June 17, 1656; later at Marblehead. John Johnson, who 
married Elizabeth, October 15, 1656, was of Charlestown and 
Haverhill; she died March 22, 1673/4, Peter Maverick and John 
Maverick (who married Catharine Skipper, April 9, 1656) lived in 
Boston. The latter was described in deeds as a shipwright, owned a 
house at the JSTorth End of the town, and died before 1680.^ James, 
Elias, Jr., and Paul Maverick lived at Winnisimmet. These are 
the names on such tax lists as have been preserved: 1674, Elias 
Maverick and Elias Maverick, Jr.; 1681, the same, also Paul 
Maverick; 1687 and 1688, Widow Maverick and Elias Maverick; 
1692, Elias and Paul Maverick; 1695, Paul Maverick; 1702, Paul 
Maverick and John Pratt. In 1687, the Widow Maverick was 
taxed for one poll, two horses, two oxen, six cattle, twenty sheep, 
and two swine; Elias, for one poll, two horses, nine sheep, and 
one swine. His housing was valued at three-fifths that of the 
western farmhouse. In 1702, John Pratt was taxed for one 
negro man, two cows, twelve sheep, and three horses; Paul 
Maverick, for three cows, twenty sheep, and one horse. As 
" Sea bookes and Instruments " and over a tun of logwood 
appear in the inventory of the estate of James Maverick, taken 
in 1671 by two of the neighbors at Winnisimmet, and as Elias 
■Maverick, Jr., was described in legal documents as a " ship- 
wright," it would seem that the family utilized their frontage 
on the sea and Island End Eiver in addition to cultivating their 
farm. 

Elias Maverick, Jr., married Margaret Sherwood December 8, 
1669. She was admitted to the Charlestown church August 8, 
1675. The children recorded to them are: Elias, born November 
4, 1670 ; 2 Margaret, married John Pratt, July 29, 1691 ; Elizabeth. 

1 Vital Records of Boston; Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 9, ff. 6, 7 ; Suff. Deeds, 
L. 11, f. 392; L. 17, f. 351; L. 24, f. 137; Wyman, 555; Boston Rec. Com. 
Rep., i. 25. 

' Presumably the son, not, as Sumner (East Boston) suggests, the 



Chap. Ill] APPENDIX 5 43 

According to Wyman, all three were baptized August 22, 1675. 
Abigail, baptized September 24, 1676 ; ^ Samuel, baptized August 
14, 1687. Elias Maverick died before November 2, 1696, as on 
that date his son-in-law, John Pratt, was appointed administrator 
of his estate, and, five months later, guardian of his son Samuel. 
In September, 1697, three children were living, — Margaret Pratt, 
Abigail Maverick, and Samuel Maverick.* 

In 1678, Elias Maverick, Sr., conveyed to his son Elias and the 
heirs of his body lawfully begotten, the house in which the son then 
dwelt, with the land which Elias, the father, bought of William 
Stitson. In January, 1695/6, Elias Maverick gave twenty acres 
of land near this house by deed of gift to his son-in-law, John 
Pratt, of Boston, inn-holder.^ In the tax list of 1695, both 
Elias Maverick, Sr., and John Pratt appear in division num- 
ber one (the North End) of Boston, yet the inventory of the 
estate of Elias Maverick was taken by men of Winnisimmet.* 
John Pratt was host of the well-known Salutation Inn, near 
the landing-place of Winnisimmet Perry in Boston. Thence 
he removed, early in the autumn of 1697, " to Winnysimtt 
into his owne House standing night y^ fferry, there — where- 
into he hath removed his wines beare and other necessaryes for 
y® accommodation of man & horse." He petitioned the Suf- 
folk " Court of Quarter Sessions for the Peace," October 5, 
1697, for permission to continue at Winisinmiet his vocation 
as innkeeper.'' He increased his lands by purchase, and Feb- 
ruary 8, 1708/9, with his wife Margaret, conveyed to John Brint- 
nall, for £400, forty-five acres, including the easterly homestead 
with twenty-six acres.'^ He was then' described as of Salem, 
innholder. 

Paul ]\Iaverick married Jemimah Smith, daughter of Lieut. 
John Smith of the adjoining Ferry Farm on the Bellingham estate. 
He owned the covenant at Charlestown, September 11, 1681. His 
children were : Moses, bom February 8, 1680/81, baptized Septem- 
ber 11, 1681, died January 28, 1685; Jotham, baptized October 

father, married Sarah Smith, February 3, 1695/6. She married George 
Robinson, April 7, 1698, and on April 27, 1699, was appointed adminis- 
tratrix of the estate of her former husband, Elias Maverick, of Boston, 
" Mariner." Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 14, f . 35 ; Vital Records of Boston. 

^ See Sumner, East Boston, 1C6. 

* Wyman; Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 11, ff. 227, 261, 275 j Suff. Deeds, L. 14, 
ff. 431, 432; L. 18, f. 2. 

= Suff. Deeds, L. 11, f. 81; L. 17, f. 251. 

^ Mass. Archives, cix. 121. 

' Suff. Deeds, L. 24, f. 118. 



44: HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. Ill 

28, 1683; John, baptized, aged one year, August 14, 1687.^ 
Paul Maverick received by the will of his father twenty-five 
acres, and acquired, by payment of legacies to his sisters, the 
western farmhouse and fifteen additional acres. March 1, 1708/9, 
he conveyed to his son, John Maverick, joiner, the westerly 
homestead with forty acres, the consideration being £300. 
June 17, the latter conveyed the same to John Brintnall (his 
uncle) for £-140." In June, 1709, Jemimah Maverick applied, 
in the name of her husband, Paul Maverick, for a license to sell 
strong drink as an innholder from " Mr. Hillier s House in 
Middle Street," Boston, it having been previously a licensed house. 
She stated that her husband was absent at sea and that she wished 
the business to retrieve losses in his estate.^" At the January 
term of the Court of General Sessions of the Peace, in 1709-10, 
Jemimah Maverick was fined for selling strong drink without 
license.^^ Later she married Henry Eichman, of Boston. ^- 

James, son of Peter Maverick, received from his grandfather 
Elias fifteen acres of the farm at Winnisimmet. From a deposi- 
tion taken in 1718, and recorded at the Suffolk Eegistry, it is 
learned that he was a ferryman, and lived at Winnisimmet, where 
two children were born to him and his wife Hester, — Martha, 
born April 17, 1693, and James, born, the deposition states, 
October 2, 1699. Presumably the latter date is a mistake of the 
copyist, as James Maverick must have been twenty-one years of 
age when he joined in the conveyance to Brintnall, Xovember 1, 
1715. July 16, 1703, Hester Mavrick of Lynn, widow of James 
Mavrick late of Boston, presented a petition to the Governor and 
Council for permission to sell a part of her husband's estate, the 
half " of a Small Plot of Ground " with " a little old house on it " 
on Wing Lane in Boston. She said that her " husband did about 
Eight years Since go out of this Port in a Vo3^age bound for Lon- 
don, & was then taken by the ffrench, & Since not heard of by any 
of his Relations, he Left me two Children a boy & a girl, with 
uery Small matters to Support & maintain them." The house 
was not sold until 1728. August 7, 1705, the widow married 
Benjamin Whitney, and November 1, 1715, Benjamin and Esther 
Whitney of Framingham, and her children James and Martha 
Maverick, conveyed to Jobn Brintnall fifteen acres lying between 

' Wyman. 

» Suff. Deeds, L. 24, f. 134, 191; L. 28, f. 257. 

" Original Papers, City Clerk's Office, Boston, ii. See also Suff. Deeds, 
L. 24, f. 135. 

" Court Records, 201. 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 24, ff. 132-137; L. 28, f. 257. 



Chap. Ill] APPENDIX 5 45 

the lands conveyed to Brintnall by John Pratt and by the son 
of Paul Maverick; the consideration was £50, and there was no 
mention of buildings.^^ Later Martha Maverick married Thomas 
Bellows of Southboro.] 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 33, f. 15; L. 30, f. 75; L. 46, f. 151; Mass. Archives, 
xvii. 93; Sumner, East Boston. 



46 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. Ill 



APPENDIX 6 

[John Brixtnall, first of the name, was a son of Thomas 
and Esther P>rintnall/ a brother of Captain Thomas Brintnall, of 
Framingham, and hence an uncle of the William Brintnall who 
graduated from Yale College in 1721. October 9, 1721, Lieuten- 
ant John Brintnall executed a deed of gift of the farm to his son 
Thomas Brintnall, to take effect at his death (confirmed by will 
dated September 15, 1731). The "Condition & limitation" of 
the deed was " that his said son Thomas Brentnall shall not have 
or possess the abovegranted Farm & other the premisses before 
he comes to the Age of Twenty one years but that he shall be' 
brought up to learning out of the profits & Incomes of the farm 
until he hath Commenced once, after which time he shall have 
twelve pounds yearly & every year out of the profits & Incomes 
of said farm for and towards his Maintenance until he comes of 
age or until the decease of s*^ L* John Brintnall & Phebe his 
wife." ^ A son Thomas was born to John and Phcebe Brintnall, 
October 17, 1708. This lad would have been nearly nineteen in 
1727, when a Thomas Brintnall graduated from Harvard Col- 
lege, where Edward Wigglesworth — brother of Eev. Samuel 
"Wigglesworth, who had married Mary Brintnall, elder sister of 
Thomas of Winnisimmet — was a professor. Presumably the 
graduate of 1727 was Thomas Brintnall, of Winnisimmet. In 
June, 1728, he joined the church of Thomas Cheever at Rumney 
Marsh, and in August, 1729, and June, 1732, was chosen a 
delegate to the Ecclesiastical Councils, to which the church was 
invited. For Harvard men these councils were essentially alumni 
meetings, and were appreciated as such. Thomas Brintnall, 
of Winnisimmet, died in the summer of 1732, as August 23, his 
elder brother John petitioned to be appointed executor of his 
father's estate in the place of his brother Thomas, deceased.^ 
Thomas Briotnall (H.C. 1727) is starred in the catalogue of 
1733. The following items from the " Inventory ^ of the Estate 

* See chap. xix. Appendix 3. 

» Suff. Deeds, L. 46, f. 100 ; SufT. Prob. Rec, L. 29, f. 206. 

• Suff. Prob. Files, 6167; Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 31, f. 347. 



Chap. Ill] APPENDIX 6 47 

of M'" Thomas Brintnall late of Winnisimet,." handed to the 
Court by his sister Esther, denote a student in the family. 

"1 Clock £8. 1 Desk with Drawers 72/ £11" 12" — 

1 looking Glass 15/ five Vols of the Roman History 50/ 4 " 7 " — 

History of the World 1 " 5 " _ 

Whistons Theory of the Earth 15 " — 

Doctr Hornecks 2 Volumes 24/ Coles Engr Dictionary 3/ 1 " 7 " — 

Baleys English Dictionary 1 " — " — 

Greek Lexicon 15/ Doctr Mathers. Life 5/ 1 '' — " — 

Greek Testament 4/ Lattin Testament 2/ 6 " — 

Tull'ys orations 1/ Psalm Book 4/ Bible 4/ 9 " — 

26 bound Books 30/ 30 stitched Books 10/ 2 " — " — 

Silver Watch 100/ bleu Great Coat 40/ 7 " _ " _ " 

According to the deed of gift of 1721, on the death of Thomas 
Brintnall without heirs, the estate descended to Benjamin Brint- 
nall, grandson of the grantee, John Brintnall, and son of John 
and Deborah Brintnall, then resident in Lynn. First, however, 
the farm was to be rented, and the rentals paid to the children 
of Lieutenant John Brintnall — Phoebe Sprague, John Brint- 
nall, Mary Wigglesworth, James and Esther Brintnall — till each 
had received two hundred pounds. Phoebe Brintnall, widow of 
Lieutenant John Brintnall and daughter of Captain John Smith 
of the Ferry Farm, also held a life interest in the estate. Ac- 
cording to the Chelsea vital records, she died in 1753, the 19th 
day of the second month. The children of John and Phoebe 
Brintnall were : 

Phoebe, born November 22, 1691; married by Nicholas Paige, 
Justice of the Peace, January 25, 1709/10, to Stower Sprague 
of Maiden, greatgrandson of Ealph Sprague and of Nicholas 
Stowers, the first settlers in Charlestown. She died March 15, 
171:1/3 — gravestone at Maiden.* 

John, born November 3, 1693; married August 28, 1712, 
Deborah Mellins, daughter of William Mellins of Maiden; was 
a tanner at Maiden, a schoolmaster in 1721, in which year he 
sold his lands there ; ^ he lived thereafter on a farm in Lynn 
given him and his son Benjamin by deed of gift from his father; 
he removed thence to Winnisimmet. His will was probated 
November 18, 1746. 

* Boston Rec. Com. Rep., ix. 249; Wyman; Suff. Deeds, L. 62, f. 117; 
there is a discrepancy of a year between her age as calculated from the 
dates of her birth and death, and her age as given on her gravestone. 

° Boston Rec. Com. Rep., ix. 249; Wyman; Maiden Vital Records; 
Corey, History of Maiden, 3G0 note, 491, 492; Middlesex Probate Files, 1767. 



48 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. Ill 

Mary', married by Rev. Joseph Sewell, June 30, 1715, to Eev. 
Samuel Wigglesworth of Ipswich, son of Rev. Michael Wiggles- 
worth of Maiden. She died June 6, 1723, aged twent3--eight.'' 

James, bom November 18, 1699, married August 6, 1724, Mary 
Basset. She owned the covenant at Charlestown, April 18, 1725, 
was admitted to the church January 21, 1727/8, and had two 
children baptized there in 1725 and 1727. In 1727/8 James is 
spoken of as late of Charlestown, now of Falmouth in the County 
of York, Sadler. March 16, 1728/9, he had a son James bap- 
tized in the right of his wife by Rev. Thomas Cheever. Later 
Ebenezer Thornton obtained judgment for the rent (£3 per quar- 
ter) of a house near the North Battery, which James Brintnall, 
" Sadler or Gentleman," had occupied from April to October, 

1729. In November, 1732, he dated a petition from Winni- 
simmet, and February 3, 1733/4, had a son Thomas baptized 
by Rev. Thomas Cheever. February 7, 1737/8, he was of Charles- 
town. He is described by his father, in his will, as " my un- 
worthy son James," and by his widow, in applying for letters 
of administration in 1747, as "late an Ensign in Captain Wins- 
lows Company of Foot in y^ Expedition to Carthegena." '^ 

Esther, bom July 5, 1701, married January 24, 1733/4, by 
Rev. Thomas Cheever, to Samuel West of Salem.* 

Thomas, bom October 17, 1708; died in 1732. 

Benjamin, bom March 25, 1714; died April 13, 1714, aged 
twenty days. 

Judging from the inventory of his estate November 22, 1731, 
John Brintnall was prosperous. The total sum, which included 
little land, as that had been conveyed to his sons by deeds of gift, 
was £885 4s. 6d. Among the items were : " Imprimis his Books," 
£3 185.; "his goold c^'^silver," £77 18s; " peuter," £12; "the 
negro woman," £25; "the two negro men," £200; "the clock," 
£8. The appraisers were Joses Bucknam of ]\Ialden, Thomas 
Pratt, and Samuel Tuttle.'' John Brintnall attended the church 
in Maiden. He died October 7, 1731, aged seventy years. 

September 11, 1732, Phoebe Brintnall, widow, and John Brint- 
nall were appointed to execute the will of Lieutenant John Brint- 
nall in the place of Thomas Brintnall, deceased. November 6, 
1732, James Brintnall petitioned that his mother and brothers 

" Boston Records; Felt, Ipswich, 282. 

' Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 40, f. 116; Suff. Prob. Files, 8826; Suff. Deeds, 
L. 56, f. 16; Wyman; Rec. of Suff. County Court, 1727-1728, 313; 1729- 

1730, 202, 403, 404. 

* Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 30, f. 362; L. 31, f. 115; Suff. Deeds, L. 56, f. 16, 
" Suff. Prob. Files, 6157. 



i 



Chap. Ill] APPENDIX 6 49 

and sisters be cited to appear before the court in order to arrive 
at a better understanding of his father's will. Apparently, by 
a clause therein, John Brintnall intended to cancel all gifts to 
bis son James, including possibly the legacy of £300 mentioned 
in the deed of gift of 1721. October 27, 1735, James Brintnall 
and Stowers Sprague complained to the court that four years 
had passed since their father died, and no account had been 
rendered, and no rent fixed on the farms, and they petitioned 
that the matter be examined into and the farms rented to the 
highest bidder. All concerned were cited to appear December 9, 
1735; an account was placed on file; Samuel Watts was ap- 
pointed guardian of " Benjamin Brintnall — a Minor aged about 
Twenty Years Son of John Brintnall of Winnisimit " ; and 
February 25, 1735/6, John Brintnall and Samuel West of Salem 
became the guardian's bondsmen.^" February 7, 1737/8, John 
Brintnall secured a release of the farm at Winnisimmet from 
the heirs of his father, — Mary Wigglesworth of Ipswich, grand- 
daughter of John Brintnall, deceased, for £150; James Brint- 
nall of Charlestown for £200; Esther and Samuel West of 
Salem for £300 in bills of credit ; Phoebe and Stowers Sprague."^^ 
But he did not, apparently, end his indebtedness. In 1752, 
Samuel Wigglesworth and Thomas Cheever testified that he gave 
bond to Esther West to secure the legacy due her. After John 
Brintnall's death, Samuel West, June, 1748, sued his executors 
for twenty pounds still due, he claimed, on a debt of £60. The 
matter seems to have been difficult of adjustment, as Samuel 
Wigglesworth certified that he attended, as a witness in the case 
of Capt. Samuel West vs. John Brintnall's heirs, the court at 
Salem in 1748, and at Ipswich in 1752.^^ 

John Brintnall, second of the name, was living in Lynn when 
his brother Thomas died in 1732.^^ July 8, 1733, he had a son 
Thomas baptized by Eev. Thomas Cheever. Presumably he 
M^as then living at Winnisimmet, though he was not dismissed 
from the church in Lynn until September 19, 1737, — the year 
Avhen Benjamin Brintnall attained his majority, and the father 
and son thereby obtained an assured title to the farm. March 22, 
1737/8, the South precinct in Maiden voted " To grant y^ request 
of m"" BenjV Brintnall and others to buld a sete behind y^ forth 

^% Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 29, ff. 266-271; Prob. Files, 6157, 6827. 
" Suff. Deeds, L. 56, ff. 15, 16; L. 62, f. 117. 
" Suff. Early Court Files, 45,726, 64,261, 69,392, 70,092. 
" A farm in Lynn had been given him by his father. See Vital Records 
of Lynn for four children born there. 
VOL. I. — 4 



50 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. Ill 

Seat in y^ mens side Gallery, and to have it for thear own, with- 
out any Disturbance." ^* After the settlement of Rev. William 
McClenachan over the Chelsea church in 1748, Benjamin Brint- 
nall and his brother John transferred their membership from 
Maiden church to Chelsea. 

In 1740 John Brintnall and his son Benjamin divided the fann 
by a line running from the Mystic River northerly over the hill. 
The son received a deed of the eastern farmhouse with fifty-eight 
acres, and quitclaimed to his father the western farmhouse with 
sixty acres.^® In July, 1743, the father and son exchanged farms. 
The right of dower of Phoebe Brintnall, widow of Lieutenant 
John Brintnall, was reserved.^'' 

John Brintnall, second of the name, by will probated in 1746, 
gave the eastern farm to his son John Brintnall, — brother of 
Benjamin Brintnall, owner of the western farm, — subject to 
certain legacies to his six daughters, the maintenance of his 
widow, Deborah, and the right of three daughters, Phoebe, 
Deborah (bom in Lynn, May 29, 1727), and Mehitabel, to live 
in the house until their marriage.^^ The other three daughters of 
John and Deborah Brintnall were Jemimah (presumably married 
Thomas Patten of Maiden, December 4, 1745), Esther (bom in 
Lynn, August 18, 1722 ; presumably married Nathan Dexter of 
Maiden, June 26, 1744), Mary (born in L}T3n, June 16, 1724 ; pre- 
sumably married Nathan Shute, November 14, 1745).^^ Phoebe^® 
was married by Rev. Phillips Payson to John Reed of Boston, 
September 14, 1758; Mehitabel to David Barker, December 27, 
1759. 

The intention of marriage of Benjamin Brintnall and Elizabeth 
Waite of Lynn was recorded in Chelsea, March 7, 1741. She died 
September 24, 1770, aged forty-eight. Their children, as recorded 
at Chelsea, were: 

Benjamin, born in 1743, the 8th day, 10th month (married Rachel, daughter 

of Samuel Watts, jr., 20 
October 11, 1770). 

Elizabeth 1745 23 12 (married Richard Floyd of 

Boston, June 30, 1708). 

" Corey, 543 (note), 211, GIG (note). 
" SuflF. Deeds. L. 61, f. 80; L. 82, f. 268. 
" Ibid., L. 79, f. 131; L. 82, f. 267. 

" Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 39, f. 243. For the inventory, see Prob. Piles, 
8608. 

" Maiden Vital Records. 

" According to Wyman, born December 31, 1713. 

*" See chap. vii. Five children recorded at Chelsea, 1771-1778. 



Chap. Ill] 




APPENDIX 6 


Esther 


1747 


21 7 


Ezra 


17i9 


21 1 



1754 
1750 


26 
1 


9[?] 
9 




1758 
1760 
1761 
1763 


5 
3 

28 
3 


6 

1 
7 
3 


(baptized May 14, 1758). 
(baptized January 6, 1760). 
(baptized August 2, 1761). 
(baptized March 13, 1763). 



51 

(died 1747 - 8 10). 
(married Elizabeth Watts, 
daughter of Samuel 
Watts, jr., June 2, 
1774). 

Abigail 1750 15 10 (married Joseph Oliver," 

April 18, 1771). 

Esther 1752 5 6 (married Tilestou Clark, 

June 16, 1774). 

Phebe 

Jonathan 

Mary 

Thomas 

William 

Samuel 

The intention of marriage of John Brintnall of Chelsea and 
Deliverance Bean of Boston (born July 4, 1732, daughter of 
Caleb and Deliverance Bean),^^ was recorded in Chelsea, July 3, 
1752, and in Boston, August 13. Their children were: John, 
born in 1753, the 24th day of the 8[?]th month; Deliverance, 
in 1755, the 12th day of the 11th month; William, in 1756, the 
18th day of the 4th month; (died in 1758, the 6th day of the 
1st month). The wife, Deliverance, died October 21, 1759, aged 
twenty-seven. 

September 1, 1761, the town of Chelsea chose Benjamin Brint- 
nall town clerk " in tlie room of m'' John Brintnall who was gon 
in his Majestys Seruise." In April, 1761, the General Court 
voted to raise 3,000 men for garrison duty in order to release the 
regular troops for offensive warfare in the South. John Brintnall 
enlisted forty-five men, and served as Second Lieutenant under 
Captain Lemuel Bent from April 18 to December 13; under Cap- 
tain Gideon Parker from December 13, 1761, to July 6, 1762. In 
the account of Captain Parker is a charge of £3 12s. for the pas- 
sage of Lieutenant Brintnall, his sergeant, and his servant, from 
Halifax; in 1761, the servant was William Townsend, private. 
Brintnall served as Lieutenant from July 1, 1762, to January 1, 
1763 (company unknown) ; and from January 2, 1763, to July 16, 
1763, under Captain Wm. Barron.^^ February 20, 1764, Lieuten- 
ant John Brintnall and another were " drowned attempting to go 
to Castle William in a small Canoe." ^* His intention of marriage 

" See E. D. Harris, Descendants of Captain Thomas Brattle, 63, note. 
" Boston Records. Apparently John Brintnall attained his majority 
five years after his father's death. Suff. Prob. Files, 8G08. 

^^ Mass. Archives, xcviii. 425, 436; xcix. 146, 162, 168, I80a, 181, 200, 

277. 

" Church Records of Chelsea. 



52 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. Ill 

with Jerusha Blowers of Boston was recorded at Chelsea, April 
o, 1763, and in Boston, March 31 ; the marriage itself is not on 
record in either place. At the time of his death he was school- 
master at Winnisimmet.-'' 

By deed in 1761 from his brother, and by bond of May 28, 
1761:, to pay an annuity to his mother, Deborah, Benjamin Brint- 
nall obtained title to the eastern farm.-*^ In -April, 1768, the 
jnother Deborah died, aged seventy-three years. She had been 
schoolmistress at Winnisimmet in 1755; Jan. 13, 1752, the select- 
men's records state that the " Widow Brintnall " was willing that 
those ill of the smallpox should be removed to her house. March 
6, 1769, Benjamin Brintnall was living apparently in the eastern 
house, as when he conveyed the title of seventy-seven acres and the 
westerly farmhouse to Jonathan Green, a bond was drawn for 
the peaceful removal from that house of the family of Stephen 
Greenleaf before March 16.^^ Jonathan Green and Benjamin 
Brintnall were kinsmen. In 1713 the parents of the latter chose 
their uncle Joses Bucknam their guardian. Lydia Bucknam, the 
sister of Joses, was the mother of Jonathan Green. -^ Benjamin 
Brintnall continued to live in the eastern farmhouse after its sale 
to Green in 1772, and there seems to have been an agreement 
by which he might, under certain conditions, redeem it for 
£361 18s. 2d.^^ Benjamin Brintnall held many town offices, in- 
cluding that of town treasurer; he was chosen a deacon in the 
church in 1749. Occasionally he taught the school at Winnisim- 
m.et. Many legacies and large families were a heavy burden ; in 
the latter years of their ownership, the farms of Benjamin and 
John Brintnall were encumbered by a long series of mortgages.^" 
August 3, 1780, Deacon Benjamin Brintnall married Rebecca, 
daughter of Eev. Joseph Emerson of Maiden and widow of Jacob 
Parker; thereafter he lived in Maiden, where he died July 26, 
1786, aged seventy.] 

^° Abigail Hawks was paid £1 13s. id. for " Bording mr John Brint- 
nall Deceasd the Town's School master fivp weeks" in January and Feb- 
ruary, 1764, at 6s. 8d. per week. Chamberlain MSS., v. 57. Also ibid., 95. 

= • Sutf. Deeds, L. 95, f. 209 ; Prob. Files, 8608. 

" Rough draft in Chamberlain ]\ISS., iii. 121. 

=' S. S. Greene, Descendants of Thomas Green of Maiden (1858), 32. 

="■ Chamberlain MSS., iii. 135. 

«» Suff. Deeds, L. 60, f. 79; L. 65, f. 70; L. 81, f. 222; L. 83, f. 14; 
L. 82, f. 269; L. 95, il". 210, 211; L. 97, ff. 222, 223; L. 100, f. 25; L. 104, 
f. 219; L. 105, f. 145, etc. 



Chap. Ill] APPENDIX 7 



APPENDIX 7 



JoNATHAX Green was of Stoneham, where his family had long 
lived. [According to W. B. Stevens, History of Stoneham/ he 
was the son of Jonathan, and grandson of Samuel, Green of 
Maiden; was born in that town November 23, 1719; but when 
a boy was carried to Stoneham on his father's removal thither. He 
had served the town of Stoneham as town clerk and town treasurer 
for twenty years, and had also been active in the militia, — hold- 
ing the rank of Captain.] On his removal to Chelsea in 1769 
he became, as he had been in Stoneham, an important citizen, — 
was assessor, town clerk, [selectman, town treasurer] and repre- 
sentative to the General Court. Hon. Samuel Watts was his 
neighbor, only a road separating their estates. He was one of the 
administrators of Watts' estate, and as such hunted up the papers 
which in London, or in Boston, had been used in defending the 
Bellingham Will suits, of which we shall hear much, — mainly 
from papers preserved by Jonathan Green. 

• In the War of the Eevolution, Mr. Green was e{!icient in many 
Avays. His house was on the hill now belonging to the United 
States, across the Mystic from Bunker HilL; and from it he and 
many other people from Chelsea and other towns witnessed the 
battle of the seventeenth of June, 1775. His estate, near the 
British lines, was so accessible by water to General Howe's troops, 
that the Committee of Correspondence ordered him to remove 
his live stock to Stoneham.^ His farm houses and barns were' 
used for barracking our " Main Guard " then commanded by 
Lieutenant-Colonel Loammi Baldwin. 

" This certifies that our main Gard that was kept at Winnesim- 
met made use of the two Dwelling houses Belonging to Capt. 
Jonathan Green at s^ winnesimmet from September to January 
Last past. 

March y^ 28*^ 1776. 

Loammi Baldwin Colo." ^ 

" Deci" ye 23<3 1775 the Officers of the Companies stationed at 
Chelsea to Jon^ Green D"" To two Cords one foot & a half of 

^ Pages 65, 99-104. See also S. S. Greene, Descendants of Thomas Green 
of Maiden, 32; Corey, Maiden, 501, 632. 

' See infra, the itemized account of the damages he sustained from the 
war. Chamberlain MSS., v. 175-177. 

' A. D. S. Chamberlain MSS., vi. 23. 



54 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. Ill 

wood Delivered at the Gard house at winnesemmit for the use of 
the Gard since the first day of this Instant 

Jon^ Green." * 

On this estate, in 1779, Jonathan Green boarded the town 
schoolmaster at Winnisimmet four weeks at £3 10s. per week; 
and in 1780 for nine weeks at £12 per week, — such had been the 
depreciation of paper money. Two and one-fourth cords of wood 
for this school cost the town £135.^ 

[December 21, 1785, Jonathan Green conveyed to Josiah Capen 
of Chelsea, Gentleman, one hundred fifteen acres " with two dwell- 
ing houses three barns one Cyder house one chaise house one wood 
house one little house bounded Southerly on the river that runs 
from Boston to Medford to Low water mark westerly and North- 
westerly on the mill river partly and westerly partly on Marsh 
of Thomas Sergeant Northerly on Marsh of Moses Collins and 
also westerly on said Collins marsh Northerly Northeasterly and 
Easterly on the Island end river so called and Easterly on land 
'of Samuel Watts excepting out of said piece of Land the road 
or way that goes by said Easterly house." By the same deed he 
conveyed four acres in the dammed marsh, in what was formerly 
the Tuttle farm (in what is now Eevere). The lands were con- 
veyed subject to a mortgage of 480 " pounds of lawful silver 
money " to Ebenezer Putnam of Salem, physician. December 
22, 1785, Josiah Capen mortgaged the land to Jonathan Green 
to secure a part of the purchase money, and August 28, 1787, 
quitclaimed the land to Jonathan Green of Stoneham for £700, 
and a release from his mortgage bond. He included also in the 
conveyance a pew in the southeast corner of Chelsea meeting- 
house between the pews of Samuel Watts and Samuel Pratt. "^J 

* Chamberlain MSS., iii. 149. [Draft in handwriting!: of Jonathan 
Green. He delivered four cords six feet of wood at the guard house 
between October 1 and November 25. 1775. Ibid.] 

' Chamberlain MSS., vi. 125, 163. [Bills in the handwriting of Jonathan 
Green, with the order for pajTnent endorsed on the back. For boarding 
the schoolmaster in March and April, 1779, Green charged £4 16s. a week. 
Ibid.] 

' Sufi". Deeds, L. 154, ff. 71, 73; L. 161, f. 29. [Stevens states that 
Green returned to Stoneham in 1786 and was " the most active man of 
the town in public affairs." In 1836, Sarah Green of Stoneham testified 
that she had lived in Jonathan Green's family for one year from April, 
1785, and that he removed to Stoneham in April, 1786. Peter Green 
et al. i\ Chelsea, March term of the Superior Court, 1836. He was chosen 
selectman of Stoneham in 1788, town clerk in 1789. He represented Stone- 
ham in the Convention that ratified the Federal Constitution. He died 
August 25, 1795.] 



Chap. Ill] APPENDIX 8 55 



APPENDIX 8 

DYKE AND DAM AT ISLAND-END RIVER 

Among the old Chelsea marshes — such as *' The College 
Marsh," " The Town Marsh," " The Dammed Marsh " — was that 
which, without any descriptive name, lies between Chelsea and 
Everett and stretches from the mouth of Island-End River to 
the foot of Powderhorn Hill. Originally this marsh was inter- 
sected by several creeks which were navigable by shallow boats, 
and at high tide the whole was covered by water. 

In the lifetime of Hon. Samuel Watts, and of his brother Daniel, 
the principal owners of this marsh, there appears to have been 
no attempt to exclude the tide waters from overflowing it; but 
when, near the close of the last century, it had chiefly passed 
from those families, the several proprietors united for the build- 
ing of a dyke and dam, and February 17, 1789 [Samuel Danforth 
(son-in-law of Hon. Samuel Watts)], Samuel Watts (son of 
Hon. Samuel Watts), Benjamin Blaney (then owner of the 
estate on County Avenue, later known as the Heard Estate), 
Isaac Smith, Daniel Waters, Ezra Sargent, Nehemiah Oakes, 
Calvin Chittenden, Moses Collins, Jonathan Green, Mary Haugh 
(Hough), Joseph Whittemore, and Aaron Dexter, proprietors of 
a marsh lying on each side of Island Eiver, running into Maiden 
[later Everett], and Chelsea, were authorized "to make and 
maintain a dam for the purpose of fencing out the sea from the 
said marsh." ^ 

February 3, 1791, Jonathan Green, then owner of the United 
States Hospital grounds, with some adjacent marsh land, sold 

* Massachusetts Acts and Resolves, chap. 74 Acts of 1788. [The peti- 
tion to the Legislature, dated January 15, 1789, was signed by all the 
proprietors of the marsh except Mrs. Haugh, who was living at a distance. 
The marsh contained about three hundred acres. The dam was to be built 
across Maiden River above the landing-place; and the dyke was to run 
from the dam across the marsh to the upland on Captain Jonathan Green's 
farm. Its situation can be seen on the plan of the Naval Hospital grounds 
drawn by S. P. Fuller, December, 1827, in the Massachusetts Archives. 
For the ownership of this marsh, see chap. vii. appendix.] 



56 



HISTORY OF CHELSEA 



[Chap. Ill 



to the same proprietors one and one-half acres of " marsh land 
where the said Dyke now is, being of an equal width from the 
River to the Upland — and also twelve feet in Width all the 
way from the River to the Upland on each side of said Dyke." * 

* Suff. Deeds, L. 171, f. 248. 



Chap. Ill] APPENDIX 9 57 



APPENDIX 9 

Hon. John Low, a surveyor thoroughly acquainted with Chel- 
sea, says that the original Maverick Ferry Landing was westerly of 
Chelsea Bridge, and that Eichard Bellingham, after his purchase 
of that part of the Maverick estate to the east thereof, built a 
new landing on his own estate, between the present bridge and 
ferry landing. There is much to confirm this statement. That 
there were old ferryways not far easterly of the bridge I per- 
sonally know, as the late James Hovey and myself, near neigh- 
bors, often made use of them in bathing, summer mornings long 
before the world was up. [When Benjamin Brintnall, in 1769, 
conveyed to Green the westerly seventy-seven acres of the qstate, 
— retaining the easterly forty acres, — the east bound of the land 
sold began " at the Southeast corner, of said tract of land, at a 
heap of stones on the edge of the bank, at the Sea, a little North- 
east of the old Winnessimmet Ferry Ways so called," and ran 
northeasterly over the hill, and across the marsh about two rods, 
to a ditch in the marsh; thence southwest to Mill Eiver. This 
proves conclusively that at some time in the past there were 
ferryways on what is now the Naval Hospital estate. The same 
deed gave to Green " forever, an uninterrupted passing open 
way, the whole wedth between the bank of said Sea, up to my 
inclosure from the South easterly corner of said tract of land 
Eastwardly to the open County Eoad forever, (to lay common for 
ever for the use of the said Jonathan Green . . . and all other 
persons that have any concerns with him or them)." This grant 
of a right of way would not have been necessary if the public 
road from Winnisimmet Ferry started at that time from the 
beach at the eastern comer of the estate conveyed. In 1713, 
Edward Watts, who had recently taken possession of the Ferry 
Farm, petitioned for leave to erect a gate on the road between 
his house and that of John Brintnall, on the ground that such 
had been the custom " above these fifty years." ^ Obviously the 

* Mass. Archives; infra, chap. xxv. appendix. 



58 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. Ill 

fern' must have started from a landing on the Ferry Farm at 
that period, as a gate, on the road from Lynn to the ferry, would 
have obstructed travel too seriously, and would not have been 
desired by the owner of the ferry franchise. In 1836 Sarah Green 
testified that in 1785 the ferry waj's stood "opposite said Watts' 
tavern house. They went nearly straight up towards said house." ^ 
Until the laying out of the Salem Turnpike, the road which ran 
" Westerly of Winnesimit Ferryways " was the only connection 
of the Brintnall, later the Green, farmhouses with the outer 
world by land.] The southerly boundary in Green's deed to 
Dexter Avas partly on thje Mystic River and partly on the old 
road, which indicates that it went westerly of the bridge, through 
the United States grounds, to the original ferry landing. This 
piece of upland and flats not included in Dexter's purchase had 
been used for many years as a town landing, and the town's title 
to it rested on long possession. April 7, 1806, a committee was 
appointed by the town " to treat with William Hall respecting 
building a wharf on the Town Landing near Chelsea Bridge " ; 
but May 5, the town voted not to accept his proposal. 

The heirs of Jonathan Green, who died at Stoneham in 1795, 
brought suit for the property, and prevailed in the Supreme 
Court.^ The case of Peter Green et ah. v. Chelsea, March 1, 1836, 
is Xo. 125 on the docket; and among the papers are references 
to the title from Samuel Maverick, votes of Boston and Chelsea, 
and the deposition of Rebecca Hays, daughter of Jonathan Green, 
who lived on the place some years. What disposition the Greens 
made of the place, I am unable to say. It now belongs to the 
United States. [The land conveyed by Green to Dexter in 1791 
was bounded " Southerly partly on the road that goes Westerly 
of Winnesimit rerr3fways, & partly on the River that goes from 
Boston to Medford." When the Salem Turnpike was laid out, 
it passed the gate to Dr. Dexter's farm, 565 feet to the southwest 
of his boundary line. Thus the gate to the farm was not placed 
in the old road, which followed the shore from the Ferry land- 
ing, at the boundary of the Ferry Farm, but at a point some little 
distance to the west thereof. According to the conveyance from 
Green, the farm was bounded southerly by the old road from the 
Ferry Farm to this gate; the shore and flats which lay to the 
south thereof were ignored. June 13, 1805, the town voted not 

* Suff. Court Files, Superior Court, term of March 1, 1836, Peter Green 
et al. V. Chelsea. The site of this old landing on the Ferry Farm i3 
marked on the plan in Suff. Deeds, L. 351, f. 153. 

* 24 Pickering's Reports, 71. 



Chap. Ill] APPENDIX 9 59 

to discontinue the road from Mr. Williams' (owner of the Ferry 
Farm) to Dr. Dexter's gate, as requested by the Directors of the 
Salem Turnpike and Chelsea Bridge Corporation. The land 
which Green's heirs contested was this strip of upland and flats 
which lay west of the westerly bound of the Ferry Farm, then 
owned by the Winnisimmet Company, and southeast of Chelsea 
Bridge and the town road south of the Salem Turnpike. These 
lands were leased by the town of Chelsea to Thomas Williams in 
1831 for ten years, and Williams transferred this lease to the Win- 
nisimmet Company.* This was not the first lease. In 1825 Chel- 
sea voted to lease for a year the landing near Chelsea Bridge to 
J. Pierce and T. Green for three dollars fifty cents. In May, 
1829, it was leased to S. Chittenden; in 1830, for one year, 
to Thomas Williams. Wharf rights along the water front were 
beginning to be of value. The heirs of Jonathan Green con- 
veyed to Benjamin Brintnall, shipwright, of Charlestown, in 
1832, one hundred feet of the shore adjoining on the east the 
Ferry Farm. After several changes of ownership this came, in 
1844, into the possession of the Winnisimmet Company, — the 
price mentioned in the conveyance of 1832 being $200; in that 
of 1844, $2,000, subject to a mortgage of $1,500. The westerly 
portion of the flats, — between the land conveyed to Brintnall 
and Chelsea Bridge, — after many changes of o\vnership was 
divided, in 1850, between William Earl and G. W. Gerrish. The 
frontage on the turnpike was 235 feet for each proprietor; the 
premises were used for wharfage purposes. (Suff. Deeds, L. 362, 
f. 52 ; L. 464, f. 33 ; L. 520, f . 83 ; L. 600, f . 296 ; L. 361, f . 294 ; 
L. 371, f. 256; L. 362, f. 79; L. 371, f. 115; L. 414, ff. 120, 121; 
L. 464, f. 33, etc. A plan of the division between Earl and 
Gerrish is recorded in Suffolk Deeds, L. 612, f. 90.)] 

* See chap. vii. 



GO HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. IV 



CHAPTER IV 

THE INDIANS AT WINNISIMMET 

WHEN Samuel Maverick built bis Palisade House at 
Winnisimmet, the region was inhabited bj Indians, 
though greatly reduced in numbers by two causes. In 10 15 
the Tarratines, a powerful tribe easterly of the Penobscot, 
made war with the Pawtuckets, whose lands extended from the 
Charle's to the Piscataqua, including Winnisimmet, Rumney 
Marsh, and Pullen Point. This war was disastrous to the 
Pawtuckets, of whom were the Rumney Marsh Indians.^ The 
other cause, the plague of 1616, more fatal than war and less 
discriminating, ravaged the New England coast. 

The chief of the Pawtuckets was Nanepashemet of Lynn 
until the w^ar with the Tarratines, when for safety he removed 
to the Mystic, near Medford, where he built a fortified house ; - 
but that did not protect him, for he was killed in 1619. He 
left a widow, three sons, and a daughter. Their English names 
were Sagamore John of Mystic, and sometime of Winnisim- 
met ; Sagamore James of Lynn ; and Sagamore George of 
Salem, who, surviving his mother and brothers, became sachem 
of his tribe.^ The daughter was Yawata. After Nanepashe- 
met's death his widow gathered the remnant of the tribe to the 
Mystic, where she governed it, leaving local rule, howevei') to 

^ " Until the year 1738 [1739], the limits of Boston extended to Saupus, 
including Chelsea, which was called Rumney Marsli. Part of this great 
marsh is now [1844] in Chelsea and part in Saugus. The Indians living 
on the borders of tliis marsh, in Lynn and Saugus, were sometimes called 
the Rumney Marsh Indians." Lewis, in Lewis and Newhall, History of 
Lynn (1805), 39. 

^ On Rock Hill, from which he watched the canoes of the hostile Indians 
on the Mystic River. Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc., vi. 363; Drake, Middlesex, 
ii. 100. 

' He died in 1684, aged 68. Eaton, Hist, of Reading, 30. 



Chap. IV] THE INDIANS AT WINNISIMMET 61 

lier sons. Before 1635 she married Webcowet, — medicine 
man of the tribe, — who became sachem in her right. She 
died [about 1650].-' 

Sagamore John, as has been said, lived sometime by the 
Mystic, and later at or near Winnisimmet.^ The Charlestown 
records say that when the Spragiies came from Salem to 
Charlestown in the summer of 1628, they " lighted of a place 
situate and lying on the north side of Charles river,'^ full of 
Indians, called Aberginians. Their old sachem being dead, 
liis eldest son, by the English called John Sagamore, was their 
cliief, and a man naturally of a gentle and good disposition; 
. . . About the months of April and May, in the year of our 
Lord 1629, there was a great design of the Indians, from the 
Narragansetts, and all round about us to the eastward in all 
parts, to cut off the English ; which John Sagamore, who 
always loved the English, revealed to the inhabitants of this 
town." ' 

After a year's acquaintance with the Indians about Boston 
Bay, Thomas Dudley wrote to the Countess of Lincoln that, 

" Upon the river of Mistick is seated sagamore John, and upon 
the river of Saugus sagamore James, his brother, both so named 
by the English. The elder brother, John, is a handsome young 
man, [one line missing] conversant with us, affecting English 
apparel and houses, and speaking well of our God. His brother 
James is of a far worse disposition, yet repaireth often to us. 

* [Corey, Maiden, 37, note 57. Her connections seem to have been 
chiefly with Cambridge, as the location of the Indian huts on Wood's and 
Winthrop's maps would lead us to expect.] 

° Wood's Map of 1033 (Young, Chronicles of Mass., 389) places Saga- 
more John [above Newtown, across the Mystic from] Medford; [also the 
W^inthrop Map in Nar. and Crit. Hist, of Amer., iii. 380;] but he had sev- 
eral residences. Corey (Drake, Middlesex, ii. 113, [Hist, of Maiden, 37]) 
says he dwelt upon the creek which runs from the marshes between 
Powder Horn Hill and Winnisimmet, that is, on Island-End River, at 
Sweetser's or Beacham's Point in Everett. I think he was there when 
Maverick ministered to those of his tribe stricken with smallpox. [Hutch- 
inson (edition of 1795) writes " John, Sagamore of Winisimet, and James 
of Lynn, with almost all their people, died of the distemper." Hist., i. 38, 
note. See also p. 408; p. 410 "John at Medford"; also Savage, Win- 
throp, i. 02. October 11, 1031.] 

° See Dudlej^'s letter, Young, as above, 306. " Upon the river of 
Mystic." 

' Ibid., 374, 377. 



62 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. IV 

Both these brothers command not above thirty or forty men, for 
aught I can learn." * 

December 5, 1633, Governor Winthrop recorded, as has 
been said, that 

" John Sagamore died of the small pox, and almost all his people ; 
(above thirty buried by Mr. Maverick of Winesemett in one day). 
The towns in the bay took away many of the children; but most 
of them died soon after. 

" James Sagamore of Saugus died also, and most of his folks. 
John Sagamore desired to be brought among the English, (so he 
was;) and promised (if he recovered) to live with the English 
and serve their God. He left one son, which he disposed to Mr. 
Wilson, the pastor of Boston, to be brought up by him. He gave 
to the govemour a good quantity of wampompeague, and to 
divers others of the English he gave gifts, and took order for the 
payment of his own debts and his men's. He died in a persuasion 
that he should go to the Englishmen's God. Divers of them, in 
their sickness, confessed that the Englishmen's God was a good 
God; and that, if they recovered, they would serve him. 

" It wrought much with them, that when their own people 
forsook them, yet the English came daily and ministered to them; 
and yet few, only two families, took any infection by it. Among 
others, Mr, Maverick of Winesemett is worthy of a perpetual 
remembrance. Himself, his wife, and servants, went daily to 
them, ministered to their necessities, and buried their dead, 
and took home many of their children. So did other of the 
neighbours." ^ 

I now bring together such incidents as I have found 
respecting the tribe of Indians to which those of Winnisimmet 
belonged. 

In a Court at Watertown, March 8, 1631. " Vpon a com- 
playnte made by Saggamore John & Pef for haueing 2 
wigwams burnt, which, vpon examinacon, appeared to be 
occaconed by James Woodward, serv' to S'" Rich: Saltonstall, 

• Young, Chronicles of Mass., 306. 

" Savage, Winthrop, i. 119. This testimony, already quoted in part, 
places " Mr Maverick," now known to have been Samuel Maverick of 
Winnisimmet, in an amiable light. He had had a sharp encounter, a few 
years before, with the Indians, — possibly with some of those whom he now 
befriended. 2 Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc, i. 230. 



Chap. IV] THE INDIANS AT WINNISIMMET 63 

it was therefore ordered, that S"" Richard should satisfie the 
Indians for the wronge done to them, (which accordingly hee 
did by giueing them 7 yards of cloath,) & that his said serv' 
should pay vnto him for it, att the end of his tyme, the some 
of l^" '' " 

March 26, 1631. " John Sagamore and James his brother. 
Math divers sannops, came to the govemour to desire his letter 
for recovery of twenty beaver skins, which one Watts in 
England had forced him of. The govemour entertained them 
kindly, and gave him his letter with directions to Mr. Down- 
ing in England, etc." ^^ 

At a General Court in Boston, May 18, 1631, " Chickatau- 
bott and Saggamore John pmised vnto the Court to make 
satisfaccon for whatsoeuer wronge that any of their men shall 
doe to any of the Englishe, to their cattell or any oth"" waies." ^^ 

July 13, 1631. " Canonicus' son, the great sachem of Nar- 
aganset, come to the governour's house with John Sagamore. 
After they had dined, he gave the governour a skin, and the 
governour requited him with a fair pewter pot, which he took 
very thankfully, and stayed all night." ^^ 

August 8, 1631. " The Tarentines, to the number of one 
hundred, came in three canoes, and in the night assaulted the 
wigwam of the sagamore of Agawam, by Merimack, and slew 
seven men, and wounded John Sagamore, and James, and 
some others, (whereof some died after,) and rifled a wigAvam 
where Mr Cradock's men kept to catch sturgeon, took away 
their nets and biscuit, etc." ^^ 

September 17, 1631. "Mr. Shurd of Pemaquid, sent home 
James Sagamore's wife, who had been taken away at the 
surprise at Agawam, and writ that the Indians demanded 
[ ] fathom of wampampeague and [ ] skins for 

her ransom." ^^ 

April 16, 1632. " The messenger returned, and brought 
a letter from the governour [of Plymouth], signifying, that 

" Mass. Col. Rec, i. 84. [Sir Richard Saltonstall was of Watertown.] 
" Savage, Winthrop, i. 49. 
« Mass. Col. Rec, i. 87. 

'^ Savage, Winthrop, i. 58. [See also i. 52. April 4, 1631.] 
" Ihid., 59, 60. [Mr. Cradock's farm vi^as on the upper Mistick ; 
Agawam was later named Ipswich.] 
" lUd., 61. 



64 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. IV 

the Indians were retired from Sowams to fight with the 
Pequins, which was probable, because John Sagamore and 
Chickatabott were gone with all their men, viz., John Saga- 
more with thirty, and Chickatabott with [ ] to Canoni- 
cus, who had sent for them." ^^ 

At a Court, Boston, September 4, 1632. " Saggamore John, 
&c pmised against the nexte yeare, & soe euer after, to fence 
their corne against all kinde of cattell." ^" 

November 7. " It is ffurther agreed, that S^ Richard Sal- 
tonstall shall giiie Saggamore John a hogshead of corne for 
the hurt his cattell did him in his corne." ^^ 

Sagamore John seems to have been friendly to the English ; 
and they just to him. Sagamore James died young, in 1633, 
and therefore was little known by the Winnisimmet people. 
He lived at Saugus,^'' and married the daughter of Passacona- 
way, the noted chief at Penacook (Concord, N. H.). 

On the death of John and James, the succession passed 
to their brother. Sagamore George, subject to the supreme 
authority of his mother. Squaw Sachem, widow of Nane- 
pashemet. His jurisdiction, at first over Lynn and Rumney 
Marsh, after his mother's death, extended north and east of 
the Charles to the Piscataqua. His immediate possessions 
were in Winnisimmet, Rumney Marsh, Saugus, and Lynn ; ^^ 
and his inunediate subjects, the Rumney Marsh Indians. 
About 1676 his family removed to the vicinity of Lowell. In 
the war with the Wampanoags, the same year, he joined King 
Philip, was taken prisoner, and carried as a slave to Bar- 
badoes, whence he returned. Born in 1616, married to a 
daughter of Poquanum, who lived in Nahant, he died in 1684, 
at the house of James Rumney Marsh, the son of his sister 

" Sava<re, Winthrop, i., 72. 

" Mass. Col. Rec:, i. 99. 

'« Ibid., 102. 

" [See the location of the Indian huts on Wood's and Winthrop's maps, 
in Lynn (then Saufjus) across the river from Rumney Marsh.] 

-" [The jurisdiction and the immediate possessions of Sagamore George 
seem to have been confined to the region about Salem and Lynn until after 
the death of the Squaw Sachem. In 1044, with other Indian chiefs, she 
signed a document placing herself under the jurisdiction of the Massa- 
chusetts Government. During her lifetime friendly relations seem to 
have been maintained. She died about 1050. Corey, Maiden, 33-37. The 
authority for the statement in the text is Lewis, History of Lynn.] 



Chap. IV] THE INDIANS AT WINNISIKMET 65 

Yawata.^^ He left a son and three daughters, the latter of 
great personal attractions. 

Sagamore George made trouble for the landowners in Tlum- 
nej Marsh and adjacent to^vns. For more than ten years, 
sometimes bj suit in the inferior courts, and at others by 
petition to the General Court, he pursued them for lands 
unjustly withheld, as he claimed. One of his petitions is pre- 
served in the Massachusetts Archives : ^^ 

" To ye Eight Wor«^ y^ Go-'no^ the Worti Dept-GoVno'" & Magis- 
trats of this hono''*^ Courte, 

" The humble Petticon of George Indian, humbly Requesting 
Whereas yo'' Peticon'' hath often besought this hono'^"'^ Courte to 
consider his Condicon, & weighing such Grounds & euedenc as he 
hath produced to declare & manifest his interest & Just Tytle to 
the Lands of his late brother deceassed, on mistick side, & con- 
ceiueing the hono'"*^ courte to be soficiently informed & possessed 
with the truth & equitie of his Cause in & aboute the same, That 
now at Last out of yo*" Great clemency & Compassion towards yo"" 
poore Indian & Petitioner, you will bee pleased to vouchsafe him 
somme smalle parte parcell or proportion of his inheritanc Land 
for himselfe & Company to plant in, which he only is bould to put 
you in Remembranc of as hertofore not doubting of his grante 
from yo^ Create fauor toward him, Vv'hoe is willing to be now 
& euer 

An humble serv* to this honuered Courte & Country 

George Indian, 
in Answer to this petition the Dep*^. thinke that the petitioned' be 
referd to bring his action in some inferio^ Coiirt Accordinge to 
law (aganist any y* w^hold it vn justly from him) w*^ Refenc to 
y® Consent of y*^ hono^"*^ magis*^. 
herevnto 

William Torrey, Cleric 

The Mag^t^ Consent heereto. 

Edw. Rawson, Secrecy " 

" Daughter of Nanepashemet. She had a son, Muminquash, in 1636, 
called James Rumney Marsh. [Corey, Hist, of Mald«n, p. 48, note 98, con- 
tradicts the statement of Lewis on this point.] They removed to Natick. 

^ Vol. XXX. 19. [The original petition with the endorsements thereon. 
The order of the Court in its final form is in Mass. Col. Eec, iv. Pt. i. 52, 
under date of May 22, 1651; also in iii. 233. The third volume of the 
Colonial Records dates all entries from the fii'st day of the session, hence 
the order appears in the latter as of date May 13.] 
VOL. I. — 5 



66 



HISTORY OF CHELSEA 



[Chap, IV 



Appended to tins is the following deposition: 

" Quachaniafiuine saith : when George Indians brother was sick 
of the pox before his death he spake to him & Egawam with him 
& said when I die I giue all my wompam & Coates & other things 
to my mother & all my groimd to my owne brother meaning the 
Ground about powder home hill, vnles his own sonne did Hue 
but if his sonne dyed then none to haue the Ground but his brother 
George Indian, and Egawam saith the same; & they both say that 
seauen daves after this John Sagamore George's Brother dyed 
^'1 ^o 1651 

These annoyances drove the Rumney Marsh people to the 
General Court. 

"To the Eight wo'' John Endicot Gouo^"; the . wo"" 
Thomas . Dudley - Deputie - Gouo'" : w^^^- the. rest of the 
Magistrats - & Deputies, of the Generall Court now 
Assembled, in Boston - 

The . humble Petition of John Newgate , John Coggine. 

Eobert Keayne - Samuell . Cole; Nicholas . Parker; & other 

inhabitants . of Eumne - Marsh 



Shoiveth : 

That whereas this Honored Cowrt hath formerly giuen that necke 
of Land, caled by the Name of Eumne Marsh ; diuers year's since 
to Boston, for the accomodation of that Towne and ye Townsmen 
thereof hath deuided the same to many of there Inhabitants, 
some whereof hath sould & passed ouer there. Alotments to others, 
and many alsoe haue bought much of there Land there, and Layd 
owt the greatest pt of there estates, in BuiUlinge . ffensing . 
plantinge &c/ and haue inioyed the same peacably for these six- 
tone year's & vpwards; as is the Condition of most of yo'' Peti- 
tionee's : And yet now haue the Title of there Land called into 
Question, by Sagamore George an Indian , by some pretence of 
clayme that he makes thereto, -and vpon that pretence . (though . 
lie haue lyen qwiet soe many year's & neuer made any clayme 
tboreto) yet lately, by the instigation of some discontented, or 
disaffected persons as we verely suppose, he liath bine full of 
molestation to yo^ Petitionee's, and hath by way of Petitions 
brought vs twise into the Gene"" Cowrt, who after strict inqwire . 
by Committes chosen on purpose to examine it - fowoid no Just 
grownd of clayme, & therevpon reiected his Petitions . yet after 



Chap. IV] THE INDIANS AT WINNISIMMET 67 

this, by Petition agayne, he brought vs before owre Honored 
Magistrates . at a Cowntie Cowrt at Boston , who after hearinge 
all that he could aledge, & some that pleaded for him, it was 
determined . that they saw no right he had, nor any Just grownd 
of his molestations . but that he ought to be qwiet, w*^*^ w*^*^ we 
thought he had bine fully satisfied, and that we should neuer haue 
heard more of it, yet the I^ast Cownty . Cowrt at Boston, he served 
vs all agayne by way of Action, wher after we had attended all that 
Cowrt, we at Last Nonsuted him, & had costs granted vs. And 
yet he still threttens vs w**^ farther sutes. 

Vpon all w'^'^ growndes, as alsoe becawse this is not ow"" Case 
alone, but the Case of many other Townes, & soe by Conseqwence 
of the whole Cuntrye; for if he can preuayle to draw vs to any 
Composition, or to pt w**^ any of ow"" Land . then he intends to 
doe the Like to Lyn. &c/ as he hath threatened. And accordinge 
to his successe othe"^" Indians wilbe incoraged to lay clayme, not 
only to the ffarmes belonginge to other Townes, but to the Townes 
them selues, as some haue bine forward enough to expresse them 
selues that way 

Therfo^' yo"* Petitione'"^ pray this Honored Cowrt to take it into 
there wise Consideration and to prouide some way by some Order 
of Cowrt, that no Indian shall make clayme nor any of the Eng- 
lish shall tender composition, after soe many years qwiet posession 
as some other Cowrts haue done, or how else you in yo'^' wisdomes 
shall Judge . best, that soe not only yo"^ Petitioners may haue 
Indemnitie agajmst such continuall and vniust molestations (haue- 
inge no other way to helpe ow"^" selues . for if we reeouer any thinge 
- they haue nothinge to pay) but alsoe the whole Cuntry may be 
cleared from such pretended Titles . w^*^ if not timely preuented 
may proue of very bad Conseqwenc to diuers Towneshipes - if not 
to the whole Cuntry . by the said effects there of 

And yo"" Petitionees shall euer pray : &c/. 

(The Depu*^ thinke meete to graunt this peti- Robert Keayne 
tion Pvided that the petition""^ Lay out forty John Cogan 
Acers of good plantinge Land in some conven- John Xewgate 
lent place such as this Court shall approue James Penn 
off for Sagamore George to make vse of, w*^ Samuelle Cole 
Keference to the Consent of o^ honou.'"d mag- George Burden 
is*s hereto William Torrey Cleric.) -" 

The Magistrates agree to the Deputies returne, if insteed of 
40 ; 20 be granted • & if George Sagamo^ shall sell it to any oMier 

'^ [The vote enclosed in parentheses is cancelled in the original.] 



68 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. IV 

that the Petition'"^ sliall liaue the rcfusall thereof. And if the 
Petition*"^ shall not yeald to lav out 20 acres good planting 
ground as in the returne is specified then the said Sagamo'' is 
pniitted the benefitt of the law to recoucr what right he hath to 
the Land, if their bretheren the depu^^ Consent heereto. 
Edward Eawson Secre^^ 
The Depute Consent to o"" hono""^ magis*^ hereto 

W^ Torrey Cleric.-* 

Sagamore George brought actions in which he was defeated, 
and pestered the General Court by petition until, out of 
patience, it declared, May 19, 1669, " that his clajme men- 
coned in his petition eoncernes not the General! Court to 
determine, but Icaue him to the proprietor's of the land to give 
liim as they & he shall agi'ee." ^^ I have given on another page 
all that is known of his later life. 

There is abundant evidence that the colonists as a whole, 
acting from their own impulses, as well as upon explicit and 
repeated instructions from the Company in England, treated 
the Indians fairly well. They purchased their lands at prices 
deemed equitable by both parties ; they gave them equal pro- 
tection w^ith the whites before the law; and they honestly 
endeavored to bring them under the influences of civilization 
and Christianity, but with little success. Regular industry 
was distasteful to the savage, and the restraints of his new 
mode of life galling. lie soon found that even a partial occu- 
pation of the lands which he had sold to the white settlers 
interfered with his hunting and fishing, and he regarded 
exclusion from any part of the soil, over which he roamed 
at will, as unjust. The General Court made many enactments 
between 1630 and 1640 to secure his rights as well as the 
safety of the colonists. Samples are these: [No one could 
employ or, if it was in his power to prevent, permit an 
Indian to] use a gun on any occasion or pretext under penalty 
of fine and imprisonment unless, as was provided after some 

^* Mass. Archives, xxx. 20. [The orif^final petition with endorsements.] 
There is no date to tliis petition; but the order of the General Court 
thereon. October 23, 1051, refers it to that time. See Mass. Col. Rec., iv. 
Pt. i. 08; also iii. 252. [See the appendix to this chapter for the re- 
mainder of this note.] 

=* Mass. Col. Rec, iv. Vt. ii. 428. 



Chap. IV] THE INDIANS AT WINNISIMMET 69 

years, with leave of the General Court. Xo one could sell 
him silver or gold, or powder or shot; or, without leave, 
" intertaine any Indian for a serv*." If an Indian wished 
to trade peltries or other commodities, he could not go from 
house to house, but must repair to the " trucking howse." No 
white man could " sell, or (being in a course of tradeing,) 
giue any stronge water to any Indean " ; or buy his land 
without leave of the Court, or repair his gun. Towns had 
power to " keepe away all strange Indians, & to restraine 
Indians by them from pphaning the Lords day." Care was 
taken to prevent, and to give satisfaction for, trespasses against 
them. In all places the English were to " keepe their cattle 
from destroying the Indians corne in any ground where they 
have right to plant ; & if any corne bee destroyed for want of 
fencing or bearding, the towne shalbee liable to make satis- ' 
faction, ... & the Indians are to bee incuraged to help 
towards the fensing in of their corne feilds." ^^ 

In 1685 the Indians about Boston were few and were 
neither useful nor respectable. Efforts for their improvement 
had disappointed their friends ; and ten years before, on 
October 13, 1675, the General Court, doubtful as to their 
conduct in the apprehended war with King Philip, ordered 
" that all the tTaticke Indians be forthwith sent for, & dis- 
posed of to Deare Island, as the place appointed for their 
present aboade." Neither they nor their successors took 
kindly to English ways. It was necessary to place them under 
guardianship, and deny them the rights of citizens ; and 
to-day the only representatives of the once powerful tribes 
which inhabited these shores are an inconsiderable number of 
mixed breeds lately, if not now, the wards of the Common- 
wealth, Unlike the Latin Catholic races, Teutonic Protestants 
were unable to incorporate the native tribes into their political 
and social systems. Extermination, if not the law, was the 
fact. In 1685 the colonists in their distress turned to the 
remnant of the miserable race to save them from impending 
disaster. The story will be told in the next chapter.^^ 

" Ibid., i. 76, 83, 96, 106, 112, 127, 209, 293. 294. 

^ For some account of the Indians of Winnisimmet and of tljeir mode 
of life, about 1G80, see John Dunton's Letters from New England (Prince 
See. ed.), 163. 



HISTORY OF CHELSEA 



[Chap. IV 



APPENDIX 



The names of these petitioners remind the people of Revere 
of traditions of former owners of estates defined by boundaries 
now easil}^ determined. It is noticeable that the petitioners 
claimed estates in what is now Revere. Neither the Winnisimmet 
nor the Pullen Point people seem to have been troubled, though 
the deposition appended to the petition of Sagamore George 
asserts that he was devisee of " the Ground about powder home 
liill." Why Governor Bellingham, who owned that hill, was not 
i:)lagued by the Sagamore, docs not appear. 

The estate next northerly of Bellingham's was the Sir Harry 
Vane allotment including land northerly of Chelsea Creek, east- 
erly of Everett, southerly of an east and west line across Fenno 
Hill, and westerly of Beach Street. Nicholas Parker, who heads 
the petition, became its owner, and he sold the westerly part of 
it, including the modern Prattville, to George Burden, retaining 
the easterly part, later known as the Fenno farm. 

John Newgate's estate included the Governor Winthrop allot- 
ment, the northerly part of Fenno Hill, and was bounded westerly 
by Maiden, northerly by the Oliver Pratt estate, and easterly by 
the old county road. [The Newgate farm bounded east on the 
Cole and Tuttle farms. On Plate P, Vol. IV, of Hopkins' Atlas 
of Suffolk County, the south and west lines of the land of 0. 
Foster, and the extension of the latter line to the Shurtleff estate, 
represent the eastern bounds of the farm. See infra, chap. vi. 
appendix.] Also a narrow strip of land which reached to the 
Creek near the old Newgate house still standing (1892). 

Captain Robert Keayne owned a little farm, the Dudley farm, 
on which the old house still (1892) stands; the land now belongs 
in part to the Shurtleff, and in part to the Oliver Pratt, estate; 
and a great farm bounded northerly by the Pines River; westerly 
by Maiden; easterly by the Dewing and other estates, and south- 
erly by the Cogan, or Hugh Floyd, estate. The principal later 
owners of the Keayne great farm are Squire, Hall, Blodgett, Cope- 
land, Derby, and Peirce. 

John Cogan also had his little farm, known later as the 
Hugh Floyd farm, and the groat farm, which was bounded 



Chap. IV] APPENDIX 71 

M estcrly by Kea3'ne, northerly by the Pines Eiver, easterly by 
the sea, and southerly by a line not now easily defined, but in 
general terms, by Beach Street. The southerly part of his estate 
became a part of the Tuttle farm. [There is no record of a 
transfer from Cogan to Tuttle. The southern boundary of Cogan 
was the northern boundary of Tuttle as given infra, chap, vi.] 

Samuel Cole's estate had Newgate's on the west; the sea on the 
east; the Creek [and Newgate] on the south. In 1654, Lieu- 
tenant William Halsey (otherwise Hasey) purchased this estate, 
on which is land given by his descendants for the church, which 
is now Unitarian. [James Penn owned what was later known as 
the Sale farm. Infra, Appendix 13 to chap, vi.] 

I do not attempt to locate the haunts of the Indians on these 
estates. Their rude cultivation of the soil was subordinated to 
hunting and fishing. There are, however, historical memoranda 
and a few traditions which, in a general way, indicate some places 
of their temporary abodes. As early as 1641 (Mass. Col. Eec. i. 
310), Mount Washington in Everett was known as Sagamore 
Hill ; a name one might wish it had never lost, as it implies 
that on, or near it, the Indians had one of their seats. Many 
years ago, Isaac Pratt, then in his eighty- third year, told me he 
thought their principal abode was not far from his house in the 
pleasant valley which slopes gently to the sun, from Woodlawn 
to the foot of Mount Washington, or Sagamore Hill. He has 
found the remains of an old fort near a brook, beside which he has 
dug up clam shells, mortars, pestles, axes, and other Indian 
implements, which he shows to visitors. Besides this fort, there 
are marks of two others : one on the top of Fenno Hill, and the 
other on Powder Horn Hill. Between 1806 and 1810, Mr. Pratt 
says, some Leominster Indians visited Sagamore Hill, and occu- 
pied a house of the late Robert Pratt's father, near the residence 
of Dr. Cheever (corner of Franklin Street and Fremont Avenue). 
Their chief man was Comanche Brown. On excavating a mound 
near Winnisimmet Street and a short distance from the residence 
of the late Edward Bassett, there were found, about thirty years 
ago, fifteen skeletons, which indicated an Indian burial-place. 



72 



HISTORY OF CHELSEA 



[Chap. V 



CHiiPTER V 



INDIAN DEEDS 



THE following Indian deed and others of the same period 
have sometimes been accepted as evidence of the colo- 
nists' desire to do justice, though late, to the rcnmant of those 
tribes whose lands they had acquired; but the fact is other- 
wise. Title to their lands rested upon the gTant to a land 
company by the Crown of England; and from that company 
or its assignees, they took their deeds. The object of this 
company was profit by the sale or lease of lands and their 
adjacent waters. It was not their purpose, nor within their 
authority, to set up a foreign state; for their powers were 
limited to those needed for the management of their property. 
AVhat they possessed, and no more, they could assign to their 
grantees, the colonists, many of whom came with those motives 
Avhich now induce people to leave old and thickly settled 
countries for those new and sparsely settled, where the struggle 
for existence is less fierce. 

But AVinthrop and his fifteen hundred Puritans became 
interested in the Company from motives widely differing from 
those of their predecessors, except the Pilgrims. It is now 
evident that their purpose, though not at the time distinctly 
avowed, was to set up in the new world a civil and ecclesias- 
tical state essentially different from what they left behind, 
wherein they might worship God as they would, however it 
might be Avith those of different opinions. Their purpose 
was distinctly avowed in their records ; and their Charter, 
whatever may have been the intention of the King who granted 
it, was so drawn as not to prevent the accomplishment of this 
purpose, nor should this be forgotten.-^ 

* Tlie nature of tlie First Charter, and the powers granted by it, have 
been the subject of controversy. The English government regarded it as 
a corporation in the kingdom for trading in the territory described in the 
instrument, with the power of making rules for that purpose, accord- 



Chap. V] INDIAN DEEDS 73 

This purpose they pursued with Puritan zeal and con- 
stancy; but they found within their granted limits earlier 
coiners, reinforced by later, to whom this purpose was not 
agreeable, — still less those measures by which its accom- 
plishment was attempted. Civil and ecclesiastical contention, 
ensued, and the Puritans were reported to the King as aim- 
ing at an independent State and church, which, though dis- 
avowed, was essentially true. Consequently, in 1635, the 
King Avas asked by the malcontents to suppress the new repub- 
lic by revoking its charter; but not effectually, for the colo- 
nists had powerful friends, who not long after began the 
contest between Charles and his Parliament which cost him 
his life and gave the colonists a respite. 

But it was only a respite ; for on the restoration of Charles 
the Second, in 1660, the old question was revived and was 
settled temporarily, October 23, 16S4, by the Charter's abro- 
gation, — consummated December 20, 1686, when, after the 
short Presidency of Joseph Dudley, Sir Edmund Andros set 
up a new government for ISTew England. This period, from 
1684 to 1686, and even later, was one of intense anxiety to 
the colonists. Andros ^ claimed that the abrogation of the 
Charter, on which the precedent patent and titles rested, 
annulled both, and that they reverted to the CroA\Ti with all 
the improvements made during fifty years of resolute labor. 

This claim was not without a show of legal reason then, 
and the law is probably the same to-day. For the creation 
of corporations then was, and now is, both in Europe and 
America, an act of sovereign power. And when the Massa- 
chusetts Bay Company, itself merely a corporation, usurped 
the King's prerogative of erecting towns, which are corpo- 

ing to the course of other corporations in the realm; while the colonists 
claimed the power to set up a government proper, and make laws not 
repugnant to those of Great Britain. Historians, like Minot and Ban- 
croft, and jurists, like Joseph Story, have taken the English view. But 
Joel Parker, formerly Chief Justice of New Hampshire, and later profes- 
sor in the Dane Law School, contends, as the colonists claimed, that the 
Charter conferred powers of general legislation not repugnant to the laws 
of England. The question was vastly important, and plausible reasons 
may be adduced for either view. The First Charter and The Early Religious 
Legislation of Mass., Lowell Institute Lectures, 357. 

^ [Note that both the Indian deeds which follow antedated the appoint- 
ment of Andros as Governor of the colony. 1 



74 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Ciiap. V 

rations, such action was not only daring but void. When, 
therefore, the General Court granted lands to towns, the grant 
was inoperative because towns had no legal existence and, 
taking no title, could convey none. Xor could they divide 
such lands among their inhabitants by allotment as they 
undertook to do. The case was no better when the General 
Court granted lands by vote, as they often did; for then as 
now lands could only be conveyed by deed under seal or by 
livery and seizin. It legally followed that on the dissolution 
of the Massachusetts Bay Company in 1684 by revocation of 
its Charter, all lands, none having been legally conveyed, 
reverted to the Crown, as would be the case now. But this 
was the legal view of the matter. The equitable title of the 
colonists to lands which they had improved at great cost and 
labor was strong; but they saw only one way of meeting the 
legal claims of the Crown, and that was by obtaining from the 
original proprietors of the soil, an older, and, as they hoped, 
a better title than that of the King. Hence these Indian 
deeds, which Andros told them were no better than a '' scratch 
of a bear's paw," — a harsh saying often quoted against 
him, — but such was the law. The colonists had hoped differ- 
ferently and they hunted up the descendants of Sagamore 
George, the last of the Indian chiefs, and obtained from them 
the deeds which follow. jSTeither has been printed,^ and only 
one is recorded.'* 

Indian Deed of the Newgate Estate.'' 

" To all to whome theis presents shall come Joane Widdow and 
relict of Sagamore George formerly Sacliem of Eumiymarish 

* [Since Judge Chamberlain wrote, the second lias been printed in Sufi". 
Deeds, L. 13, f. 365.1 

* Tlie original of the first is in the possession of Charles P. Green- 
ough, Esq. ; the second is recorded among Sulfolk Deeds. They are his- 
torically interesting, as showing owners and bounds of the great farms 
within tlie limits of Rumney Marsh at the end of fifty years from the 
planting of the colony. The recital of earlier deeds as lost or mislaid must 
not be taken literally. Undoubtedly lands were often, perhaps generally, 
purchased from the Indian chiefs, but their conveyance was seldom by 
deed. [The death of Sagamore John from smallpox, in 1(533, seems to 
have relieved the settlers at Rumney Marsh of this necessity: their peti- 
tion to the General Court in 1051 shows that their only defense against 
the claims of Sagamore George was long and undisputed occupancj'.] 

^ [Endorsed on the back "Indians Deed — for the confirmation of the 



Chap. V] INDIAN DEEDS 75 

Linn and those parts adjasent in the Massachusetts Collony in 
New Enghmd. Susanna and Sarah children & daughters of the 
said Sagamore Georg David the grandchild of the said Sagamore 
Georg James Eumlymarish alias Quanupskowet and Joan his 
Mother send greeting Wheras the said Sagamore George with 
those of his counsill did at the setling of the English in thos parts 
of Eumhlymarish and plases adjoining; give grante and con- 
firme unto the said English and the respective heires and assignes 
for ever all those lands meadowes and marishes in and about the 
said Rumlymarish and received full sattisfaction and payment 
for the same but in as much as the Deed or writings cannot att 
present be found whether by mislaying or miscariage Therfore so 
it is that wee the said Sqaw Sachem Joan Susanna and Sarali 
Widdow and daugters vnto the said Sagamore George David 
grandchild vnto the said Sagamore George and James and Joan 
afore mentioned nearest of hindered and relation to the said 
Sagamore as well for the reasons and considerations afore men- 
tioned and allso for and in consideration of a valluable sume of 
mony to us in hand well and truely paid by Simon Lynde of 
Boston in New England IMerchant the receipt wherof wee doe here 
by acknowledg and thereof doe fully aquit and discharge him and 
his ; Have & hereby doe give grante rattify assure establish and con- 
firme unto the said Simon Lynde his heires and assignes for ever 
for and in the behalfe and to the use of tlie heires of the deseased 
]\P" John Newgate, all that tract of land Meadowes and Marishes 
situate and lying at or in Eumhlymarish aforesaid containing 
about foure or five hundred acres be it more or less commonly 
knowne by the name of M"* Newgats farme and by him and his 
heires and assignes posesed and oqupied about fifty years last past, 
and remaine still and now at this day peaceably posesed and 
seised thereof beinge bounded southerly on the Eiver and creak; 
and Westerly in part by the Land formerly M"* Jonathan P.arkers 
Aron Way and W^ D-eland : and soe runes or trenches away to 
Maldin bounds northwesterly and on the Easterly side by Le* 
William Haseys, the late M"" Cools [Cole's], M^" Tuttles and 
others lands; and Northerly by the late Cap* Caines [Keayne's] 
Job Lanes, and others Lands, or how ever otherwise buted or 
bounded, allso a1)0ut fifen [fifteen] acres of marish land lying 
and being part of Hog Island known by the name of M"" Newgats 
Marish, and a parsell that was formerly M^ Cools ; together with 
all the Howsing fenses trees creaks coves flates priveledges rights 

Farme at Rumly Marish wch was lionnored father Ncwjiatos Aprill 9th 
1685 — No (G)." Simoij Lynde was son-in-law of John Newgate] 



'6 



HISTORY OF CHELSEA 



[Cjiap. V 



Ijcnifits and apurtenaiises thervnto belonging or in any vrise 
appertaining To have and to hold all and singular the afore- 
mentioned premises and every part and parsell thereof vnto him 
the said Simon Lynde his heires and assignes for ever, to the use 
and behoofe of the heires of the said M"^" John Newgate according 
to the bequests of the said M'' John Newgate and his son Nathan- 
iell Newgate deceased, And wee the said Sqaw Sachem Joane, 
Susanna, and Sarah, Widdow and daugters to the aforesaid Saga- 
more George, David grandson to the said Sagamore George and 
James and Joane aforementioned doe hereby for us and every 
of us our and every of our heires excecutors and administrators 
llenounce Eeleace discharge and for ever quit claime any further 
right title claime Intrest or demand in or vnto the aforementioned 
premisses or any part therof but are and shall bee by vertue of 
thes presents wholly and uterly debared and exclueded forever, 
and wee the said Granters doe herby covenant promise binde and 
oblige our selves and every of us our and every of our heires 
excecutors and administrators to warrant maintaine and defend 
all and every the afore mentioned premises vnto him the said 
Simon Lynde his heires and assignes for ever against all pson or 
psons whatsoever anywaies lawfully claiming or demanding the 
same or any part or parsell therof and sail and will at all time 
or times bee read}^ and willing to give and passe more full and 
ample assurance and confirmation of the premises to him the said 
Simon Lynde his heires or assignes as in law and equity can be 
devised advised or required Tn witnes whereof wee the said Sqaw 
Sachem Joane Susanna Sarah David James and Joane have here 
vnto put our hands and seals this Ninth day of Aprill Anno Dom 
1GS5 in the 37^^ yeare of the reigne of our Soveraigne Lord Kinge 
Charles the second ° 



Memorandum the words ; (in the Massachusetts 
Colony in New England ; ) Aron Way and W™ Ireland) 
(Northwesterly) were Interlyned ; and afterwards was 
Signed Sealed & Delivered 

in presence of us Signum 

William Stoughton IIIWIII 

Joseph Dudley Joanna 

John Kick Susanna rz 

Signed sealed and deliuered by the 
aboue named Dauid, Grandchilde vnto 



(Seal) 
(Seal) 



" Diod February 6, 1084/5. News of Ins death does not appear to have 
reached Boston at the date of this deed. 



ClIAP. V] 



INDIAN DEEDS 



Yr 



Sagamore George aboue mentioned ; 
in the presence of us 

Hezekiah Usher 

Is" Addington 

13. 2""^ 85 

Signed sealed and deliuered by the 
abouenamed Sarah, Daughter to 
Sagamore George abouementioned 
in the presence of us — 

Is* Addington 

21 : 2"'° 85 



Sam" Bridge 



Signum 
Sarah X Sagamore 

George his (Seal) 
daughter 



Signum 
David <V Grandson 
of Sagamore George (Seal) 
abovenamed 



James Rumny 

Marsh James (Seal) 

Signum 

Joane the mother 

of James rumly (Seal) 

Marish 



Joane the Eelict or widdow of Sagamore George of Rumly 
Marsh and those parts sachem Susanna his Daughter; James of 
Rumly Marish alias Quanupskowett and Joane his mother; all 
appeared Before me; and Did freely acknowledge this aboue 
written Instrument to be signed sealed and Deliuered by them as 
their Joint and seuerall Acts and Deeds the 9^^ Aprill 1GS5. 

S : Bradstrect GoQn'^ 

Boston 130 Aprilis 1685. 

Dauid Grandchilde vnto the abonenamed Sagamore George; 
Appeared Before me and acknowledged voluntarily and freely; 
that he signed sealed and Deliuered this Instrument as his Acte 
and Deed ; 

Before me John Richards. Assis* 



daughter 



Boston. 21o April: 1685. 
vnto the abouenamed Sagamore George Ap- 



Sarah 

peared before me and acknowledged that sliee voluntarily signed 
sealed and deliuered this aboue written Instrum* as her Acte and 
Deed; together with the other her Relations abouementioned 
Boston 21: Aprill 1GS5 before mo Hum: Davie Assist^*^ 



78 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. V 



The Second Indian Deed. 

[It is an indenture dated June 4, 1685. Tlie grantors men- 
tioned are " David Eldest Sone of Samuel Manatooquis only Son 
of Sagamore George deed," Waquaahqunt and James Eumny Marsh 
'' Kinsmen to y^ s*^ Sagamore George," and " Cisly and Sarah two 
Surviveing daughters of the sd Sagamore George, Jone wife of 
the s*^ George " ; hut only the first three and " Susanna, daughter 
of George Waquaaquunt," signed the conveyance. The grantees 
were Kichard Wharton, as trustee for Samuel Bellingham ^ and 
in his own right, Deane Winthrop, James Bill Senr, John Tuttle, 
John ffloyd, William Ireland, Aron Way, and " Such other person 
and persons (thonot especially named) whose names shal hy the 
sd Richard Wharton be endorsed on this present Deed in or within 
The Space of Six weekes after the date hereof, as doe either by 
themselves or Tcnnants possess or have propriety in any of the 
Lands and premisses afforesd commonly called Winnisimett Rum- 
ney Marsh or Pullen point Lands, or appertaineing to any of y® 
Same, whether within the bounds of Charlestowne Boston, Maul- 
don or Lynn &'c (Except Such Lands and only Such as are by 
the Grantors or any of y™ already Granted and Sold to M'" Symon 
Lynd, m'" Nicholas Paige, and Anna his wife, and to Cap* Penn 
Townsend, and Such as are in the actuall possession and Im- 
provem* of Job Laine and his Tennants &'c)." 

In accord with this power, Wharton added the following: — 
" L* William Ilearsey * hath right in one ffarme of one hundred 

' Samuel Bellinfjham tlion OAvned the greater part of the present city 
of Chelsea [Wharton owned in liis own right the Eustace or ShurtlefF 
farm, see infra, chap, vii.] ; Deane Winthrop owned the large estate in 
the northeasterly part of Winthrop, on which the old Winthrop house 
now stands. James Bill's estate was mainly in the southwesterly part 
of Winthrop. ( See the plan of the Winthrop and Bill estates, infra, 
chap, vi.) John Tuttle's estate [lay on either side of] Beach Street, 
[extending] north into the marsh afterwards knowTi as the " Dammed 
Marsh " ; John Floyd's estate reached from Tuttle's northerly to the 
Pines River; and Way and Ireland's included the whole of modern 
Prattville. 

* The estates released from the Indian claim may be referred to their 
later owners. The Hearsey or Hasey estate w'as of the original Cole 
allotment, already described in the appendix to chap, iv., and included 
the land on which the Unitarian church stands and lands easterly to the 
beach. Belcher's estate probably was near Hasey. [It was a part of the 
original Cole farm, and was bounded southerly by a line a little south 
of Pleasant Street, and easterly by Beach Street.! Elias Maverick's estate 
was that now occupied by the United States Naval and IMarine hospitals. 
Lieutenant John Smith was tenant of the Ferry Farm, and had land in 



CiiAP. V] INDIAN DEEDS 79 

and Sixty Acres more or Less; Jeremiah Belcher hatli propriety 
in about fforty Acres, m^" Elias Maverick and Bro. hath propriety 
in a llarme of One Hundred and Twenty Acres more or less lyeing 
at Winnysimmett L* John Smith of Wiuysimett hath propriety 
in Sundry Tracts and Lotts lyeing in Charlestowne and Mauldin 
Bounds q*^ about Sixty Acres, That Cap* John ffloyd within 
named is concerned for himself (& Thomas and Joseph Robinson 
and Jacob Greene junior) in the ffarme he now possess att 
Rumney Marsh and he sd ffloyd in right of his Sonne Joseph is 
possessed of a Tract about thirty acres p* in Boston & p''* in 
Mauldin the Children Administrato'"^ or assignes of Capt° Brattle 
deed have a ffarme of about three hundred Acres, and John and 
Elisha Bennett have a ffarme about three hundred Acres, The 
whole and every part of what is here Endorsed being compre- 
hended in the General Grant and release within." 

The endorsement was dated July 10, 1685; the indenture was 
recorded at the Suffolk Registry, August 21, 1685.''] 

The alternative to the proprietors was resistance to Andres, 
or taking new deeds from him at such qnitrent as he deemed 
reasonable, though I cannot learn that he was extortionate. 
Some were ready to resist ; others, among whom was Samuel 
Sewall, thought it prudent to submit, though opposed to the 
Andros government. Submission was to relinquish old titles, 
and petition the Governor for new. The first Indian deed 
given above was primarily in the interest of ISTathaniel Xew- 
gate, owner of the gi'eat Newgate farm at Rumney Marsh; 
and he was among the first to perfect his title by petition.^ "^ 

Charlestown and Maiden not now easily determinable. Captain John 
Floyd's estate was part of Cogan's (see appendix to chap. iv. ). The 
Brattle and Bennett estates were in the " Pan Handle " in Revere and 
Saugus. [See infra, the appendices to chap. vi. for a detailed description 
of these farms.] 

' L. 13, f. 365. A third deed by some of the same parties for lands 
about Salem, October 11, 1G86, is printed in 1 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc, vi. 
278. See also 1 Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc, xvii. 52; Drake, Boston, 456; 
Memorial Hist, of Boston, i. 250, note; Shurtleff. Boston, 408. Dr. 
Bentley and some other writers seem not to have understood the true pur- 
pose of these deeds. 

^^ Mass. Archives, cxxix. 54. [autograph petition, endorsed " 16d July 
1688 — Pet of Nathll Newgate."] He received a deed, or fine, as it was 
called, — the only original known to me, — which is in the Bostonian 
Society, No. 599, Catalogue of 1895. Its date is 1687, June 15, and it 
was recorded December 21, same year; but not with Suffolk Deeds, — 
possibly in a separate volume now lost. It is on parchment, in black 



80 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. V 

To his Excellency S"" Edmond 
Andross Kn* Capt° Generall 
and Governour in Cheefe of 
the Terittory and Doinion of 
New England// 
The humble Pettition of Nathaniell Newdigate als Newgate 
Merchant — Sheweth 

That Your Excellencyes Petitioner was Commanded by the 
Sherrif of Suffolk to Answer an Information Exhibited in the 
Superior Court at Boston by the Atturney Generall for and Con- 
cernig A Certaine Messuadg and Farme Conta}Tiing tive hundered 
acres or thereabouts Lying and Being Scittuate in Rumny jMarsh 
adjo}Tiing unto y*^ farme of Coll. Page and also of: about thirty 
acres of Marsh or Meado[w] upon hogg Island Now in Your 
Petitioners Possession To which he hath no Title Therefore 
humbly Submits the Same unto his ^lajestye being Unwilling to 
Stand Suit with the King So humbly Craves 

Thatt Your Excell*^y would Be Pleased to 
Order him his Majestyes Graunt for the 
Same Under such Moderat Eents as Your 
Exceli^y Shall thinck fitt and Your Pettit- 
tioner Shall as in Duty Bound Ever Pray 
&c 

Nathaniell Newgate. 

letter, with a portrait of James II in scroll, and a border of animals. 
It has an impression of the Great Seal in wax. In the margin, " sold at 
Clifford's Inn Lane." [This document, tlie text of which is in Latin, and 
the script old style and very ornate, seems to have been incorrectly 
labelled and catalogued. The seal attached is neither the private seal of 
Andros, which he used for ctjmmissions in the army and the like, or the 
seal of New England. See tlie former seal in the Mass. Archives and the 
latter in 1 Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc, vi. 80, 81. All but the first page is 
missing; it appears to be tlie judgment or fine of the Court of Com- 
mon Pleas at Westminster, England, in a common recovery to bar the 
entail. It was recordetl by Jolm West, " Seery," in the " Secrys Ofilce " in 
Boston. Tlie re^'ords for the Andros period are missing. See infra, 
chap. vi. Appendix 0.] Newgate contributed £2 towards erecting a cliurch 
for God's worship in Boston. H, W. Foote, Annals of King's Chapel, i. 89. 



Chap. VI] ALLOTMENTS OF LAND 81 



CHAPTER VI 

ALLOTMENTS OF LAND 

THE Indian title to the lands afterwards incorporated as 
the town of Chelsea was extinguished by deeds of release 
to individual proprietors.^ But the Indians were not regarded 
as sole owTiers of the soil, since, as has been said, the title to 
the central portion of North America was, agreeably to the 
public law of Europe at that time, vested in the Cro-WTi of 
England by right of discovery and occupation. This title in 
the Crown, I am now to trace to the to^vn of Boston, and 
thence to those whose lands we now occupy. 

John and Sebastian Cabot, sailing under a patent from 
Henry VIIL, discovered the northern continent of America in 
1497, a year earlier than either Columbus or Americus Ves- 
pucius saw it. The Cabots claimed to have sailed three hun- 
dred leagues along the coast, landed, and planted on the soil 
the banner of England. This was the foundation of the 
English claim. But occupancy, as well as discovery, was 
essential to title ; and this was perfected by Sir Walter 
Ralegh and Sir Humphrey Gilbert, who took possession of 
it for the Crown a hundred years later.^ 

With this title, whatever its validity. King James, ISTovem- 
ber 3, 1620, granted to the Council at Plymouth in Devon, 
England, all that part of America between forty and forty- 
eight degrees of north latitude, from sea to sea, in fee, they 
paying to the King one-fifth of all the gold and silver obtained 

^ [No record lias been found of an Indian deed of date antecedent to 
April, 1685; when, in 1651, Sagamore George contested the settlers' title 
none could be produced, and it was necessary to plead as evidence of title 
the grant from the town of Boston and long occupancy. Supra, chap, iv.] 

^ Lowell Institute Lectures on the Early Hist, of Mass. by members of 
the Mass. Hist. Soc, 129 et seq. 
VOL. I. — 6 



82 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

from the country. In this way the Plymouth Company (not to 
be confounded with the Plymouth Pilgrims) became owners of 
land, which it sold in parcels to other companies or individ- 
uals, but with boundaries so vague and conflicting that con- 
trov^ersies ensued. 

Passing over earlier patents, there is that of March 19, 
1627/8, by which Sir Henry Rose well and his associates 
acquired all of Xew England from sea to sea, lying between 
the Charles and the Merrimack rivers, including three miles 
south of any and every part of the Charles, and three miles 
north of any and every part of the Merrimack. Literally, 
though probably not by intention, this included a large part 
of New Hampshire; and by express terms, all the lands, 
harbours, waters, fisheries, and mines (except the King's roy- 
alty in the latter), together with the islands and the adjoining 
seas. This patent did not create a government, or give the 
grantees the right to form one, but merely conveyed the 
property.^ 

The motive of the Crown in making this grant (aside from 
the royalty of the precious ores) was to extend its dominions 
by planting a colony, which would add to the national prestige, 
and incidentally to the national revenue, by opening new 
lands and channels of trade within exclusive English control. 
On the other hand, the land company expected gain from the 
sale or leasing of lands, as well as from hunting, fishing, 
mining, and the transportation of goods and passengers. 
Their grantees were those who, for bettering their fortunes 
or from a spirit of adventure, readily embarked in new enter- 
prises. To these should be added those influenced by religious 
or political considerations. Such were the Puritans, who, 
restive under restraints upon their civil and religious liberty, 

* [The patent from the Council for New England to Sir Heniy Rosewell 
and his associates, of March, 1627/8, is known only as cited in the Charter 
from the King, of March, 1628/9. Tlie Council granted to Sir Henry et al 
the lands with " all jurisdiccons, rights, royalties, liberties, freedomos, 
ymmunities, priviledges, franchises, prehemincnces, and ooiuodities what- 
soever which they, the saide Couneell . . . tlien had or might vse, exer- 
cise, or enioy in and witliin the saide landes." (Mass. Col. Rec, i. 5.) 
A corporation could not be formed without a Charter from the King; 
but tlie Council of New England assigned to Sir Henry and his associates, 
as individuals, its rights of jurisdiction and powers of government within 
the limits of Massachusetts.] 



Chap. VI] ALLOTMENTS OF LAND 83 

sought, under more promising conditions, to establish a com- 
munity where they would be free to enjoy their opinions, and 
at the same time carry Christianity to the heathen. 

For this it was essential to be incorporated as a body politic 
and, moreover, as a colony three thousand miles remote from 
the King's immediate government, be given the right of setting- 
up one suited to their new circumstances. Accordingly the 
Crown, March 4, 1628/9, granted to Sir Henry Rosewell and 
his associates, the patentees with some changes of the preced- 
ing year, a charter ' which confirmed their patent and con- 
stituted them a corporation by the name of " The Governor 
and Company of the Mattachusetts Bay in Newe England," 
with the rights, powers, and duties of corporations in England, 
and the power to set uj) a local government in the colony.^ 

Thus empowered and having, as they believed, for sale or 
lease on favorable terms, a country, rich in fertile lands, 
covered with forests valuable for timber, full of fur-bearing 
animals, bordered by seas and interlaced by rivers abounding 
in fish, — to say nothing of precious metals in the interior 
hills, — they began their colony. Ships, stores, arms and 
ammunition, tools, animals, seeds, clothing, and medicines 
were purchased. Clergymen, physicians, engineers, miners, 
laborers, and servants were engaged. Nothing deemed essen- 
tial to the success of the enterprise was omitted. They set- 
tled what expenses should be borne by the general stock (or 

* The liistory of the Charter is interesting, though not to be given 
here in detail. Probably the King intended to grant only such powers 
as would enable the Company in England to carry on its business in 
Massachusetts with a local government, as stated in the text. But the 
Charter was drawn so indefinitely, — so craftily, its enemies said, — that 
in the opinion of some good English lawyers, it could be legally trans- 
ferred to ]\Iassachusetts ; and also so comprehensively that a great jurist, 
Joel Parker, claimed for it all the powers needed for setting up a complete 
civil and ecclesiastical government. ( Lowell Institute Lectures on the 
Early Hist, of Mass. by members of the Mass. Hist. Soc, 355-439 ; 1 Proc. 
Mass. Hist. Soc, xi. 176-19G.) And this latter seems to have been the 
opinion of VVinthrop and his associates, for no sooner were they set down in 
Boston Bay than they acted on that view of their powers. This explains 
many things which seem very extraordinary to some in our day — and 
there are many — who are unable to accept. their view. Also the right 
of a complete local government has by some been regarded as carrying with 
it the right to transfer the Charter. Doyle, Puritan Colonies, i. 120, 158, 
352, citing R. C. Winthrop, Life and Letters of John Winthrop, ii. 443; 
G. E. Ellis, Puritan Age, 47 ; 2 Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc, viii. 108. 



84: HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

the company) and ^vllat by the colonists. Each contributor 
to the stock was entitled to a certain number of acres ; and for 
every immigrant not of the company an equitable provision 
of land was made, depending upon the number of his family 
and servants.^ 

The first party of colonists under the company came over 
with Endicott, who arrived at Salem, September 6, 1G28; 
and these were reinforced, the next year, by Higginson's 
party. Endicott's company, with those he found here, were 
about one hundred, to whom Higginson added about two hun- 
dred.^ Late in the autumn of 1628, or in the following 
sununer, a part of Endicott's colony came from Salem through 
the woods to Charlestown, and there formed a settlement ante- 
dating the arrival of Winthrop by about a year.'^ 

Ihit the affairs of the company prospered financially neither 
in England nor at Salem. Outgoes were constant and large; 
returns few, and of small amount. Some subscribers to the 
stock were slow in paying their dues; others failed wholly 
or in part. The burden was heavy and even ruinous to not 
a few who had embarked their capital in the enterprise. The 
land company was a failure from the start. Endicott, an 
able man, carried out the instructions of the company in Eng- 
land with zeal and fidelity; and when it became a corporation 
with the right to set up a local government, he was chosen its 
governor.^ But the affairs of a corporation so far away were 
not easily managed from England, and this led to its transfer 
with the charter to Xew England. ' Before this transfer, and 
iipon condition of it, some new men, of whom John Winthrop 
■was chief, came into the company with new hopes and deter- 
mination. They were Puritans having capital, for lack of 
which the undertaking had hitherto languished.^ When they 
joined their fortunes to the enterprise, it acquired vigor and 
went forward successfully. 

° Mass. Col. Rec, i. 3G.3. 399, 405. 

" Young, Chronicles of Mass., 1.3, note 4. 

' Frothinfrliani, Charlestown, 13, 14. 

' [The wording of the first letter of instructions to Endicott from the 
^Massachusetts Bay Company as a corporation was, " Wee haue . . . con- 
firmed vow Gortnor of or plantacon." Mass. Col. Rec, 1. 387.] 

° It was estimated that nearly a million dollars were expended in the 
establishment of the Colony. 



Chap. VI] ALLOTMENTS OF LAND 85 

It belongs to the history of the colony, rather than to that 
of any to\^Ti, to mark the steps by which the company gradu- 
ally lost its character as the promoter of a land scheme, and 
acquired that of the founder of a state. On Massachusetts, 
no less than on English soil, in form at least it was a finan- 
cial venture from which profit was confidently expected ; but 
religious and political considerations were paramount, as is 
manifest from their first legislation. This provided for the 
sessions of the General Court, for the maintenance of min- 
isters, the issue of process in civil actions, the regulation of 
wages, and, in general, the ordering of civil and ecclesiastical 
government. Nothing appears in the records about return 
cargoes of fish, beaver skins, lumber or ores, which would 
have gladdened the joint-stock company in England. 

Still it remained a land company; and, as such, made 
grants of land to prominent men, and doubtless to those who, 
as contributors to the stock or as emigrants, w^ere entitled 
thereto, though I find no record of these last. But we can 
trace the stages by v.diich the company divested itself of land 
within loosely defined to^\^l limits, by its transfer to their 
inhabitants, even before they became corporations legally 
capable of taking or disposing of such lands. Massachusetts 
towns, as has been said, did not come from England, but 
sprang up on the soil as they were needed, and were recogTiized 
as quasi corporations [as early as] 1632, though their powers 
were not defined by the General Court until 1636.-''^ ISTames 
were first given: thus September 7, 1G30, it was ordered that 
" Trimountaine shalbe called Boston ; Mattapan, Dorchester ; 
& the towne vpon Charles Ryver, Waterton." ^^ 

Among the early acts of the land company (for such it 
continued to be) recognizing unorganized communities as 
political bodies, was that of November 7, 1632, which 
" ordered, that the necke of land betwixte Powder Home Hill 
& Pullen Poynte shall belonge to Boston, to be enioyed by the 
inhabitants thereof for euer " ; ^- and at the same Court, '* that 

" The New Historical School, by the writer in 2 Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc, 
V. 264; also the Genesis of New England Towns, ibid., vii. 214-242; Mass. 
Col. Rec, i. 172. 

" This naming of toA\Tis has been regarded as equivalent to their in- 
corporation. Joel Parker, Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc, ix. 42, note. 

" Mass. Col. Rec, i. 101. 



86 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

tlie inhabitants of Boston shall haue liberty to fetch wood 
from Dorchester necke of land for 20 yeares, the ppriety of the 
land to reniainc to Dorchester." July 2, 1633, " It is ordered 
that the ground lyeing betwixte the North Ryv"" & the creeke ^'^ 
on the north side of M"" Mauacks, & soe vpp into the country, 
shall belonge to the inhabitants of Charlton." ^■* April 1, 
1034, Long Island, Deer Island and Hogg Island were granted 
to Boston for a yearly rent. May 14, 1634, it was " ordered 
that "Wi-netseniet, & the bowses there builte & to be builte, shall 
ioyne thcmsolues eitli'" to Charlton or Boston, as members of 
that towne, before the nexte Geiial Court, to be holden the first 
Wednesday in Septemb"" nexte, or els to be layde then to one 
of those two townes by the Court," and September 3, it was 
decreed " that W;^Tietsem*^ shall belonge to Boston, & to be 
accomi)ted as pte of that towne." September 25, 1634 ^' It is 
ordered , that ]>oston shall haue inlargem* att JMount Woollis- 
ton & Rumney Marshe." ^^ These orders imply corporate 
towns, and ownership of property; but the proceedings were 
anomalous, for the design and order of the company while in 
England, contemplated grants only by deed under seal, to in- 
dividuals, as they were entitled. ISTor was the early formation 
of so many towns intended, but only one at first and others as 
needed. Their circumstances, however, led to a multiplication 
of towns, recognized as corporations capable of taking lands 
and dividing thom among their inhabitants by allotment. ^"^ 

The first entry on the Boston records, September 1, 1034, 
shows that the people conducted their local affairs much as 
now; and in December, they not only granted lands them- 
selves, but delegated this power; for on the eigtheenth, it was 
agreed " that M"". Winthrop. M"". Coddington, M*". Bellingham, 
j\P. Cotton, ]\F. Ollyver, ■M''. Colborn and Willm Balstone 
shall have power to devide and dispose of all such lands be- 
longing to the towne (as are not yet in the lawfull possesion 
of any particular persons) to the inhabitants of the towne 

" Island End River, on the southerly side of which, and the westerly 
side of the Naval Hospital grounds, was the probable site of " Mr Mave- 
rick's house at Winnisininiet." [See chap. iii. Appendix 2 for the site 
of the house.] 

" Mass. Col. Rec. i. 100. 

" Ibid., i. 115, 110, 125, 130. 

"^ 2 Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc, vii. 235, 236. 



Chap. VI] ALLOTMENTS OF LAND 87 

according to tlie Orders of the Court, leaving sucli portions in 
Conmion for the use of newe Conuners, and the further beni- 
fitt of the towTie, as in theire discretions they shall thinke fitt; 
the Hands hyred by the towne to be also included in this 
Order." ^^ The inhabitants within defined limits (virtually 
incorporated bodies politic, as they thought, capable of taking 
lands), naturally inferred that they were capable of disposing 
of them. As seen above, Boston acted on this assumption and 
divided her lands. 

But before setting forth this division, several orders of the 
General Court should be noticed, designed to mark, and by 
record to preserve, evidence of the boundaries of estates. 
April 1, 1634, it was ordered ^' that the constable & foure or 
more of the cheife inhabitants of eQy towne, (to be chosen by 
all the ffree men there, att some meeteing there,) with the ad- 
vise of some one or more of the nexte Assistants, shall make a 
survey inge of the howses backeside, corne feildes, moweing 
ground, & other lands, impved, or inclosed, or graunted by spc- 
ciall order of y® Court, of euery ffree inhabitant there, & shall 
enter the same in a booke, (fairely written in words att length, 
& not in ffigures,) with the seHall bounds & quantities, by the 
neerest estimacon, & shall deliuer a transcript thereof into the 
Court, within sixe monethes nowe nexte ensueing, & the same 
soe entered and recorded shalbe a sufficient assurance to eQy 
such ffree inhabitant, his & theire heires and assignes, of such 
estate of inheritance, or as they shall haue in any such howses, 
lands, or ffranke-tenem*s 

" The like course shalbe taken for assurance of all howses 
& to^vne-lotts of all such as shalbe hereaff enfranchised, & efly 
sale or graunt of such howses or lotts as shalbe from time to 
time entered into y^ said booke by the said constable & foure 
inhabitants or their success''^ (whoe shalbe still supplyed vpon 
death or removeall,) for which entry the purchaser shall pay 
sixe pence, & the like sume for a coppy thereof, voider the 
hands of the said surveyers, or three of them." ^^ Lands con- 

" [Tlie Boston Toa\ti Records in Ree. Com. Rep., ii. Tlie votes of the 
to\\Ti quoted later will be found in this or the succeeding volumes imder 
their respective dates. See Savage, Winthrop, i. 151, 152, for an explana- 
tion of the circumstances under which this vote was passed; also infra, 
Appendix 1.] 

'* Mass. Col. Rec, i. IIG. These orders led to the setting up of a 



88 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

A'CyeJ to the towns by the Company or General Court, being 
regarded as cori:»orate property, and authority to dispose of 
them assured, the towns made allotments to individuals, and 
determined and defined the bounds of estates already in actual 
possession of their owners. 

Before specifying these allotments, some account is to be 
given of the lands occupied before the coming of Winthrop 
in 1G30. The extinction of the Indian title to Boston and 
other towns has been noticed, and the occupancy of the penin- 
sula by William Blackstone, and of Winnisinnnet by Samuel 
Maverick with whatever right that conferred. Blackstone took 
no title from Gorges, for Boston was not within his patent; ^^ 
but the General Court, April 1, 1033, ordered that Blackstone 
should " haue 50 ac of ground sett out for him neere to his 
howse in Boston, to inioy for euer " ; and the next year Boston 
purchased his land, less six acres, every householder paying 
six shillings, and some more.^" As to Winnisimmet the facts 
are less clear. Samuel ]\[averick had a house there in 1625, 
and was living there in 1030 when he entertained Winthrop; 
and he and John Blackleach claimed to own it in 1(335 when 
they sold the land, and the former the reversion of the ferry, 
to Bichard Jjellingham; but how or from whom they obtained 
n title satisfactory to a law-yer like Bellingham, is unkno\ATi. 
There is no evidence of a grant to any one. April 1, 1G33, the 
General Court, apparently recognising Maverick's and Black- 
leach's title to Winnisimmet, granted Noddle's Island to 
Maverick, reserving a nominal rent and the right to Boston 
and Charlestown of taking wood thcrefrom.^^ Whatever may 
have been the title of the " old planters " to the lands they 
occupied, it was recognized as valid in the instructions of the 
Company to Endicott.'^ 

Reg-istry of Deeds (perhaps copied from Holland), not tlien existinj; in 
Enfjiand, for the reason, it is said, that people were unwillinj^ that the 
state of their property should be known. 

" [A line due west from Point Shirley would include the Boston penin- 
sula, but not South Boston.] 

=» iMass. Col. Rec., i. 104; ShurtlefT, Description of Boston, 290. 

=" Mass. Col. Rec, i. 104. 

^ [The original plan was to f^ive individual settlers deeds under the 
seal of the Company; but population flowed in so swiftly that the system 
necessarily broke down, and the task of dividinfj lands was delejjated to 
the towns. Richard Bellingham bought the lands at Winnisimmet in 1G35; 



Chap. VI] ALLOTMENTS OF LAND 89 

Before " The great Allottments at Eumley Marsh and 
Pullen Point" recorded January 8, 1G37/8, there were some 
S2:)ecial grants of lands or privileges in those places either by 
the General Court or by the town of Boston. The first is the 
unique order of April, 1632, " that noe pson w'^soeuer shall 
shoote att fowle vpon Pullen Poynte or iSloddles Ileland, but 
that the s*^ places shalbe reserved for John Perkins to take 
fowle w*'^ netts." ^^ A part of what is now Winthrop appears 
to have been used as a conunon pasturage for cattle by the 
town of Boston. '" Att a generall meeting," on February 23, 
1634/5, it was "agreed . . . that all barren cattell what- 
soever (except such as are constantly imployed in draughte) 
and weaned caulves 20 Weekes ould and Weaned mayle kidds 
shalbe kept abroad from off the necke. . . . That there shalbe 
a little house built, and a sufficiently payled yard to lodge 
the Cattell in of nights att Pullen poynt necke before the 
14th day of the next second monetli " ; and April 13, that 
" all the drye cattle that are put unto our brother William 
Cheesbrough, for keeping att Pullen poynt necke, untill the 
1st of the 9th moneth, shalbe at the rate of 5s. a head unto 
him." 

November 30, 1635, it was " agreed that noe further allot- 
ments shalbe graunted unto any new comers, but such as may 
be likely to be received members of the Congregation. 

the transfer was not recorded, though it stands on the fifteenth page of 
tlie first book of records, until November 13, 1G40. (Suff. Deeds, L. 1, 
f. 15.) If the officers of the Company kept for their own, or the Com- 
pany's, use a list of tlie patents issued during the first years of the 
settlement, it has not been found. Only exceptional grants of larger 
tracts of land than could be claimed under the general regulations of the 
Company were matter of record before 1035. Such grants were made by 
the General Court, and appear in its proceedings. There is no record to 
show how either Samuel or Elias Maverick obtained title to their lands 
at Winnisimmet, — it is to be inferred that the land was theirs under the 
general regulations of the Company as to "Old Planters." (Mass. Col. 
Rec, i. 387.) The grant of Noddle's Island to Samuel Maverick required 
a special vote of the Court. In 1040 Richard Bellingham complied with 
the law of April 1, 1034, by inserting the record of his estate in the town 
proceedings, as well as in the Suflfolk Registry of Deeds. His title was 
thereby made secure.] 

^^ Ibid., i. 94. The consideration does not appear. John Perkins, said 
to have come over with Roger Williams in 1031, removed with John Win- 
throp, jr., to Ipswich in 1633, and represented that town as deputy in 
1036. 



90 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

" Item : That none shall sell their houses or allotments to 
any new comers, but with the consent and allowance of those 
that are appointed Allotters." ^^ 

December 14, 1035, voted " That W. William Hutchinson, 
]\P. Edmund Quinsey, ]\F, Samuell Wilbore, M"". William 
Cheesborowe and John Ollyver, or foure of them, shall, by 
the assignments of the Allotters, lay out their proportion of 
allottments for farmes att Rumley Marsh, whoe there are to 
have the same." 

January 9, 1036/7,"^ voted " that our brother, John Ollyvar, 
shall have his greate Allotment of forty acrs att Pullen Poynt." 
Same day, " that our brother, M*". Edward Gibbon, shall have 
an Allottment of fourescore acrs at Pullen Poynt, if it be there 
to be had. 

" And that our brother, John Olyvar, shall have an allott- 
ment of fiftie acrs there, and that rayther in regard of his 
father's resigning his right at Hog Island to the To^^^le." 

June 12, 1637, some of the above allotments are repeated 
and others voted. Thus " M"". Willyam Peirce hath an hun- 
dred acrs of upland and marsh ground layd out for him at 
Pullenpoint necke " ; Mr. Edward Gibbon, '' fourescore acrs 
of upland and marsh ground "; John Olx'^'ar, '' his iiftye acrs 
of upland and marsh ground " ; William Brenton, " had three- 
score and foure acrs of upland and marsh ground layd him 
out there, and a hundrd acrs on the otherside of M'". Aspen- 
alls " ; ^'^ and Edward Bayts, " fourteene acrs of upland and 
marsh groimd." All were at Pullen Point. 

°* May 18, 1031, the General Court " to the end the body of the ooiuons 
may be pserued of lionest & good men " ordered " that for time to come noe 
man shalbe admitted to the freedome of tliis body polliticke, but such as 
are members of some of the churelies within tlie lymitts of the same." 
Mass. Col. Rec., i. 87. But this left a side door open ; for though non- 
church members could not be voters, they might purchase lands of those 
who were, and thus attach themselves to the soil with influence, if with- 
out legal participation, in its affairs. To stop this the town voted as in 
the te.\t, — a large assumption of power for a town meeting. [The "Al- 
lotters " were the committee appointed December 18, 1634. See infra, 
Appendix 1.] 

" [Also, same date, " it was graunted to our brother, ]Mr William Bren- 
ton, that in lei we of his allottment at Hogg Hand, he shall have twenty 
acrs more added unto his allottinent at Pullen Poynte necke."] 

^^ [Note that according to the record of January 8, 1G37/8, William 



Chap. VI] ALLOTMENTS OF LAND 91 

October 30, " our brother Valentine Hill hatli his great 
Allotment granted him att Pullen Point, to the number of 
GO acrs, if it be there to be had." 

November 13, 1637, there was " granted to the Governor, 
M'". John Winthropp, the twoe hills next Pullen Point, with 
some barren marsh adioyning thereunto. Provided it be noe 
hindrance of the townes setting up a Ware in Fisher's Creek, 
or fishing for Basse there. 

" Also there is gTanted to our Brother Samuell Wilbore 
foure rodde in length of the marsh towards the sea shore, and 
3 rodd in depth next unto John Lowe his grant there. "^ 

" Also there is granted to our brother Thomas' Marshall one 
rodd in depth of the same marsh next unto the ground he hath 
there." -' 

The foregoing comprise the allotments at Pullen Point 
before January 8, 1G37/8, when " The great Allottments at 
Rumley Marsh and Pullen Point " were made.^^ 

THE GREAT ALLOTMENTS AT RUMLEY MARSH AND PULLEN 
POINT BY THE TOWN OF BOSTON 

The allotments of land in the old town of Chelsea, January 
8, 1637/8, can now be traced, though not with exactness; and 
in some cases they can be divided among present owmers. 
They began [at J the creek between Chelsea and Revere, and 
went north towards Lynn, bounded on the west by Charles- 
towTi, now Everett [and Maiden], and on the east by the old 
county road,^^ to Pines River; then turning easterly followed 

Brenton had 164 acres laid out on the " otherside of Mr. Aspenalls ", — 
that is in Revere, — and also 04 acres at Pullen Point. Presumably there 
was a mistake in the later record.] 

^ [These two allotments were not at Pullen Point, but on the Boston 
peninsula, as was the allotment which preceded that to Governor Winthrop.] 

-* [See Appendix 1.] 

^° [The old " Country " road, as it was originally called, because insti- 
tuted by the General Court of October, 1641 (see infra, chap, xxv.), later 
known as the " County " road, followed Washington Avenue through 
Chelsea and Revere, that is, ran to the boundary between Everett (then 
Charlestown) and Revere (then Boston), thence northwest along that 
boundary toward Lynn, making a shallow loop eastward through what was 
then Captain Keayne's farm. The highways designated in the text and in 
note (30) as the County road, were legalized by Boston in the years 1050 
and 1066. (See infra, chap, xxv.) The highway referred to in these 



92 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

the sea do"svn to the southerly point of Winthrop. As nearly 
all the present city of Chelsea, in 1638, was owned by Gov- 
ernor Bcllingham, under the Maverick-Blackleach deed of 

1635, it was not allotted. The first allotment, therefore, began 
at the northerly boundary of the Bellingham estate, at the 
creek dividing Chelsea from Revere, and was : 

"Imi^rymis: M'". Henry Vane, Esq., two hundred acrs: 
bounded on the South with ]\F. Richard Bellingham ; on the 
AVest with Charlestowne ; on the North with M''. AVinthropp ; 
and on the East with the highway there." ^^ 

Sir Henry Vane came to Boston, October 3, 1635, and in 

1636, at the age of twenty-four, superseded AVinthrop as gov- 

allotmonts was a town road laid out from Mill River northward towards 
Pines River for the private use of the farms in shipping their produce to 
Boston. See Appendix 1.] 

^^ The old county road from the original Winnisimmet Ferry to 
Saugus. It continues Washington Avenue through Revere, by the southerly 
side of Fenno Hill, crosses the Salem turnpike, and running by the old 
brick school house, again crosses the turnpike, and goes westerly through 
the Keayne Farm towards Saugus. It is the highway mentioned in the 
following allotments. [See supra, note 29.] 

The southerly boundary of the Vane allotment was the northerly of the 
Cary and Carter estates. It included that part of Prattville northerly of 
Lash Street, easterly of the Everett line over Mt. Washington; and that 
part of Revere southerly of an east and west line crossing the top of Fenno 
Hill to Everett, and Avesterly of Broadway. Doubt has arisen as to 
Vane's southerly line because there are two branches of Chelsea Creek, 
a northwesterly and a southwesterly; also two "fresh water runnels" 
flowing into it: one between Woodlawn and Mt. Washington, and another 
which crosses Washington Avenue near the car stables. It was the 
southerly branch of the Creek, and the southerly runnel which formed 
the southerly line of Vane, and the northerly of Bellingham. [This state- 
ment rests on the presimiption that Richard Bellingham sold no land 
to the later owner of the Vane allotment. Nicholas Parker. See infra, 
Appendix 1.] Westerly of Bellingham, in Everett, was land once owned 
by the famous John Cotton, who sold it, July 21, 1045, to Thomas Whitte- 
more, as " a parcel! of INIeddow counted two Cowe grasses being bounded 
wth the said Thomas Whitamore west & North: mr Bellin[ghaml east: & 
Mistick River south: " Suff. Deeds, L. 1, f. 61. Whittemore was a large 
proprietor, and his estate included, apparently, the westerly part of Mt. 
Washington. See item four of his will, Middx. Prob. Office. Whittemore 
was ancestor of a numerous and respectable posterity, in whom his estate 
remained to recent times. [According to the inventory of his estate, 
Tlionias Whittemore left a house, a barn, and seventy acres of land. This 
was the whole of his real estate. Middx. Prob. Rec, i. 274, 277. WMlliam 
Ireland witnessed the will February 8, 1660, and signed the inventory 
May 25, 16G1.] 



Chap. VI] ALLOTMENTS OF LAND 93 

ernor. Defeated tlie next year, he was elected representative 
to the General Court, from Boston. He went to England, 
August 3, 1G37, and was prominent in the English Revolu- 
tion. On the restoration of Charles 11. , he was committed to 
the Tower, and executed on Tower Hill, June 14, 16G2. Sir 
Henry was not in the country at the date of his allotment,^^ 
nor is there on record any conveyance of his estate ; ^^ hut 
Nicholas Parker owned it in 1639.^^ He sold the westerly 
part, by deed not recorded, to George Burden,^^ who, Febru- 
ary 19, 1651/2, sold it with other lands westerly, for £230, 
to Aaron Way and William Ireland, of Dorchester. The im- 
provements of that date (unless conventionally stated) were 
" my howse howseing barnes buildings stables Cowhowses 
Orchards tofts gardens fold yards and all that my farme lying 
at Rumley marsh Conteyning eight score acres of ^^land and 
marsh, formerly purchased of m^ Niccolas Parker and lying 
betweene the lands of Richard Bellingham Esq"* on the south 
side and the lands of m'' John Newgate of Boston me^'chant 
on the North side and betweene the lands of the sajd Niccolas 
Parker one the east side and the lands belonging to the Towne 
of maulden on the west side." ^° The other lands westerly of 
the Vane allotment, purchased by Ireland and Way, included 
thirty-five acres, more or less, between Woodlawn Cemetery 
and Mt. Washington, owned in part by the late Isaac Pratt.^^ 
In 1G52, there was a house on this estate which may have 
been that now occupied by Mr. Nathan Pratt.^" 

Within the memory of those lately living, there were two 

^* [See infra, Appendix L] 

^- In Lechford's Note Book (p. 60) is the followinj^: " Copie of a grant 
of Powderliorne Hill by Henry Vane Esqr. to William Brampton gent. 
Dated 2. 1038 [sic]." Vane never owned Powderliorn Hill, and the grant 
to Brampton may have been Vane's actual allotment. 

^^ He agreed to pay £5 for cutting the wood on the swamp, and placing 
it " in heapes fit for carriage & reasonable burdens fitt for a man easily 
to carry." Ibid., 139. [Pai'ker's ownership of Vane's allotment was 
attested December 18, 1639, in the legal description of the land sold to 
John Newgate by Governor John Winthrop. Ibid., 141. Parker sold his 
house in Roxbury, July 18, 1639.] 

^^ [See Appendix 2.] 

'= Suff. Deeds, L. 1, ff. 206-208. 

^° [This note has been transferred to Appendix 2.] 

" No. 435 Washington Avenue on Hopkins' Atlas of Suffolk County, iv. 
Plate F. [See Appendix 2 for a continuation of this note.] 



94 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

other very old houses which stood on the Ireland-Way Farm. 
One was on the Ilobert Pratt estate ; ^^ and the other on the 
Samuel Pratt cstate.*^^ The first, replaced by a new house, 
was that in which General Washington is said to have lunched 
when riding the easterly end of the American line, at the 
siege of Boston, When the Andros government, in 1688, 
would have prevented Increase Mather from going to Eng- 
land in behalf of the Colony, he came from Boston, through 
Charlestown, to xVaron Way's house (that supposed to be still 
standing), and at night went from Way's to a boat near Mr. 
Newgate's Landing Place (near Slade's Mill), and thence 
through Crooked Lane (dividing JSToddle's and Hog islands) 
to the sea, boarded the President, and sailed for England."*" 

March 25, 1G91, when Way and Ireland divided their estate. 
Way took the westerly rooms of the house, and the northerly 
half of the barn ; and Ireland, the easterly and southerly parts 
of the same."*^ October 21, 1696, Joanna, widow and exec- 
utrix of Aaron Way, and Moses their son, and Sarah his 
wife, sold their estate for £330 to Thomas Pratt.-*^ He 
purchased the other half of William Ireland, perhaps the 
younger,'*^ for £500, December 17, 1711, and thus became sole 

** No. 400 Washington Avenue. 

^» No. 435. 

*" Sewall, Diary, i. 209, 210. 

" Sun'. Deeds, L. 15, f. 80. 

*= Ibid., L. 23, f. 203. Thomas Pratt, ancestor of the Chelsea family, 
married Mary, widow of Isaac Lewis, who died in 1(>!)1, aged 34, and was 
buried at Maiden. [Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 21, f. 183. J He was a son of John 
Lewis of Cliarlestown and Maiden. She was a daughter of Samuel and 
Mary (Waters) Davis of Groton. [Wyman.] 

" [The deed was signed by William Ireland and. Abigail his wife, and it 
is stated therein that the division of KiOl was made by "Aaron Way 
deced and the sd William Ireland." Abigail, wife of William Ireland, died 
November 21, 1715, aged 74. (Vital Records of Maiden, 355.) Presumably 
she was the daughter of John Greenland, whose will, dated May 1, 1685, 
was probated in Middlesex County, March 27, 1091. December 17, 1701, 
William Ireland of Rumney IVbarsh gave a house in Boston by deed of 
gift to Elizabeth Ireland, widow of "his Son William Jreland late of 
Boston deced.," for the use of herself and her two children, John and 
Jonathan Ireland (both minors). Suflf. Deeds, L. 20, f. 509. He had 
earlier given the son land at " Wills hill," Salem. Three children of 
William and Elizabeth Ireland appear on the Boston records: John, born 
September 17, 1082; Elizabeth. February 24, 1087/8; and Jonathan, 
January 5, 1694/5. Presumably the William Ireland baptized at Dorches- 
ter, December 16, 1655, was William Ireland, Jr., husband of Elizabeth.] 



Chap. VI] ALLOTMENTS OF LAND 95 

owner of the Way and Ireland estate.^^ Those of his hlood 
and name now occupy the old mansion.'*'^ 

The Vane allotment, by estimation, contained two hundred 
and sixty acres,^^ one hundred and thirty of which, on the 
easterly part of Fenno Hill, became the property of Rev. 
Thomas Cheever.'*^ 

" 2. M^'. John Winthropp, the Elder, a hundred and fiftie 
acrs : bounded on the South with M''. Vane ; on the West with 
Charlestowne ; on the North with M"". l!^ewgate and James 
Penn ; and on the East with the highway." 

This estate, the northerly part of Fenno Hill, lying between 
Sir Henry Vane's allotment and Mountain Avenue, was con- 
veyed to John jSTewgate, December 18, 1639, by deed unre- 

** Suff. Deeds, L. 29, f. 83. October 17, 1710, Ireland purchased of 
Edward and Rebecca Watts, for £12, a piece of marsh, — bounded easterly 
and southerly on their other land, westerly on Thomas Pratt, and northerly 
on Ireland, - — including a " Creek that runs between said granted premisses 
and said Ireland's Land," — about two acres. Suff. Deeds, L. 25, f. 139. 
This deed indicates that Edward Watts came over not later than its date. 
[Presumably this was that parcel of land, south of the creek, which on 
Hopkins' Atlas, Plate G. of vol. iv., was marked as belonging to E. Kim- 
ball, and which was owned by the Revere Rubber Company when purchased 
by the Metropolitan Park Commission for the Revere Beach Parkway. 
For a continuation of this note, see Appendix 3.] 

*^ [See Appendix 4.] 

*^ [The Vane allotment in January, 1G37/8, was, nominally, 200 acres. 
See Appendix 1.] 

*' The title is this: Vane to Nicholas Parker, about 1639, by deed un- 
recorded. Parker devised the estate, then in possession of Samuel Davis, 
to his son Captain Nicholas Parker; and he [by will dated] August 27, 
16G8, to his brother Jonathan, or, he dying, to his sisters, Joanna, wife 
of Arthur Mason of Boston, and Mary, wife of William Davis (or Dauice) 
of Barbadoes; and they for £290, sold 130 acres to Thomas Savage, 
September 30, 1674. SulT. Deeds, L. 9, f. 25. For title from Savage's 
heirs to Samuel Sewall, of the estate, then in the occupation of Thomas 
Townsend, see Ibid., L. 13, ff. [62], 82. Sewall conveys the estate, still 
in Townsend's occupation, April 27, 1685, to James Bill, Jr., Jonathan 
Bill, and Joseph Bill. L. 13, f. 307. They conveyed to Thomas Cheever 
(who married Sarah, daughter of James Bill, Sr. ), October 22, 1689 
(L. 15, f. 2), for £357, the estate, then in his occupation, bounded east 
and north by Mr. Newgate, west by Ireland and Way and south by 
the Creek. The Vane allotment has been known for many years as 
Fenno Hill ; but now that it has passed out of the Fenno family, it 
is worth a thought whether, in honor of a great patriot and friend of 
the Puritan colonists, it might not well be called Sir Harry Vane Hill. 
[For further information as to the owners and tenants of this farm, see 
infra, Appendix 5.] 



90 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

corded, drawn l\v Thomas Lechford,'*^ author of " Plain 
Dealing." The price was fourscore pounds, and the sale by 
Winthrop was f<^)rc'ed bv the unfaithfulness of his agent. '*^ 

" 3. James Ponn, tiftie aers: bounded on the South and on 
the West with .M'". \\'inthrop; on the Xorth with W. Xew- 
gate; and on the East with the highway.'' 

James Penn came to Boston with Winthrop in 1G30, He 
held various offices, died in IGTl.^*^ His estate was probably 
sold to Nicholas Parker, April 4, 1C4-0, for £28.^^ 

"4. M'". John Newgate, a hundred and twelve aers: 
bounded on the South with M"". W^inthrop and James Penn; 
on the ^^'est with Charlestowne ; on the North with M'', San- 
ford ; and on the East with the highway." 

This allotment, with those of Winthrop, Glover, and prob- 
ably of Penn and Sanford, became the gTcat Newgate Farm 
of " Foure hundred and Fifty or Five Hundred Acres " ^- 
(afterwards kno\m as the Shrimpton, or Yeamans Farm) 
which, in 1688, was bounded thus: Southerly on the river to 
Hogg Island and Creeks ; westerly by the lands of James Bill 
(Cheever estate), Aaron Way and William Ireland; northerly 
by the [country] highway and Mauldcn line ; northeast by 

*^ Note- Book, 141. 

*° Sava{i:c, Wintlirop, ii. 3, note 1 ; 2 Proc. Mass. Hist. See, vii. 127. 

"" For the Penn' family, see Essex Inst. Ilist. Coll., xix. 269; also Bos- 
ton Rec. Com. Rep., v. 22, 71; infra, p. 116. 

" Lechford's Note-Book, 142. [Judging from the position of the entry 
in the note-book, the deed was drawn in January, 1639/40; the money 
was payable June 1, 1640. No authority has been found for the date in 
the text.] 

°° [In the agreement between Nathaniel Newdigate alias Newgate, and 
John Shelton and Nicholas Brattle, June 1, 1687, the farm was stated to 
contain 300 acres. By actual survey in 1844 (SuiT. Deeds, L. 525, f. 305) 
there were 364 or 366 acres, of which 104 acres 63 rods belonged to the 
original Brenton and Cole allotments. Of this latter, 19 or 20 acres were 
purchased from the heirs of William Hasey during the eighteenth cen- 
tury; thus about 85 acres bordering on Mill River belonged, presumably, 
to the farm in 1688. It is known that John Newgate purchased the 
Winthrop and Clover allotments, which, with his own. aggregated some 
311 acres. Presumably Newgate and Parker exchanged lands (Appen- 
dix 1). Possibly, Cole or Tuttle purchased the Brenton lot, and ex- 
changed with Newgate. At least, the Glover allotment became eventually 
a part of the Tuttle or Cole farm, and these farms seem, also, to have 
protruded into the western tier of allotments, and absorbed a part of the 
original Newgate lot. See infra, chap, xix., where Judge Chamberlain states 
that the Sanford allotment became the Keayne small farm, and the note 
thereon.] 




THE YEAMANS HOUSE. 



HELIOTYPE CO., BOSTON. 



Chap. VI] ALLOTMENTS OF LAND 97 

the lands of Lieutenant-Colonel IS^icholas Paige ; and easterly 
by lands of Elisha Tuttle, Jeremiah Belcher and William 
Hasey.^^ 

John !N^ewgate, a merchant of Boston, 1632, was [a mem- 
ber] of the General Court [in 1638]. Thomas Townsend, of 
Lynn, was a brother-in-law. One of his daughters married 
John Oliver, and, on his death, Edward Jackson; another, 
Peter Oliver, brother of John ; and a third, Simon Lynde, 
one of Andros' judges, and a grantee of the Indians in the 
first deed above. In 1 640, J^ewgate gave the college " five 
pounds per annum for ever, towards the maintenance of law- 
full, usefull, and godly literature therein, and chiefly to the 
furtherance of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and his word 
and will," to be paid from the rents of his farm at Rumney 
Marsh.^^ 

John Newgate died in 1665, when his son l^athaniel sold 
this farm of four hundred acres to Colonel Samuel Shrimpton 
for £350, charged with a perpetual annuity of £5 to Harvard 
College.^^ 

Colonel Samuel Shrimpton, son of Henry, a wealthy citizen 
of Boston, was born there May 31, 1643.^^ The son was his 
father's principal legatee, and IST. I. Bowditch, the convey- 
ancer, thought him one of the wealthiest citizens of Boston 
in his day. He also took an important part in the govern- 
ment ; but as his connection with Rumney Marsh was merely 
that of a landed proprietor, his personal history is omitted 
here, but may be found in Sumner's History of East Boston.^" 

^' SiifF. Deeds, L. 16, flF. 1, 2. 

'^ Benj. Peirce, Hist, of Harvard L^niversity, 16. [This was confirmed by 
deed dated June 11, 1650. Suff. Deeds, L. 21, f. 201. The deed was ac- 
knowledged by John Newgate, ^lay 12, 1062, and recorded March 15, 1702.] 

^' Sumner, Hist, of East Boston, 358^ says this was by deed, but I find 
none recorded. In several particulars the history of Rumney Marsh rests 
upon unrecorded documentary evidence once in the sole possession of 
General Sumner, but now dispersed. He was a careful writer, but in sev- 
eral instances I have wished that I might see the document he cites. 
[The original deed to Colonel Shrimpton is among the Chamberlain MSS., 
iv. 29; it is recorded in Suff. Deeds, L. 16, f . 1 ; it is quoted in the text 
on p. 96, and cited in note 53. It was dated November 22, 1688, and was 
signed by the grandson, not the son, of John Newgate, See infra, Appen- 
dix 6.] 

^^ Sumner, Hist, of East Boston, 192 note. 

" Pages 187-230. 
VOL, I. — 7 



98 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

Colonel Samuel Shrimpton and Elizabeth (Breeden) had an 
only child, Samuel Shrimpton, Jr., bom in Boston April 20, 
IGTo, married Elizabeth Richardson, a niece of Colonel 
Shrimpton's wife, and died May 25, 1703. They had an only 
child, Elizabeth, born in Boston August 26, 1702, who mar- 
ried John Yeamans of St. James Parish, Westminster, Eng- 
land,^^^ May C, 1720, and died of smallpox December 4, 1721, 
aged nineteen. 

Colonel Samuel Shrimpton died February 9, 1697/8, and 
by will proved the seventeenth, he devised to his wife Eliza- 
beth the residue of his estate, for life, with power to dispose 
thereof by deed or will.^^ She married Simeon Stoddard May 
?)1, 1709, and died in 1713, devising various estates, including 
the New^gate Farm, to her granddaughter, Elizabeth Shrimp- 
ton, for life, remainder to her heirs in tail.^^ Elizabeth 
Shrimpton married John Yeamans. They had a son, Shute 
Shrimpton Yeamans, born in Boston August 20, 1721, who 
married ]\latilda Gunthrop in Antigua.^^ Shute Shrimpton 
Yeamans, becoming of age in 1712, barred the entail, and 
vested the fee in his father.^^ John Yeamans died in England 
about 1749, and by will, February 23, 1747, gave all his estate 
to his only son, Shute Shrimpton Yeamans, in fee, subject to 
various legacies.®"* John Yeamans lived at East Boston, and 
at the same time owmed theXewgate Farm at Rumney Marsh, 

" [In the marriage contract, dated May 6, 1720, he is described as 
"John Yeamans of the Island of Antigua, now resident in Boston." 
(Sumner, East Boston, 2.30.) April 4, 1721, John Yeamans, Esq., was 
excused from serving as constable for Boston, because he claimed to be 
" One of His Majestys Council for the Island of Antigua." Records of 
the Court of General Sessions of the Peace, iii. 74. See also ihid., 74-80, 
where he was fined 20s. for striking Elisha Cooke, in what was ap- 
parently a political diflerence of opinion. Samuel Shute. then Governor 
of Massachusetts, was an uncle of John Yeamans. !March 3, 1742/3, he was 
John Yeamans, late of Boston, " but now residing in Pall Mall in the 
Parish of St. James in the Liberty of Westminster . . . Great Britain."] 

^ [Colonel Shrimpton limited her power of disposal by the words " to & 
among such of my natural Relations and Friends as shall then be living."] 

"" Sumner, 105 [228]. [In the inventory presented by the executors, — 
Simeon Stoddard and Mrs. Elizabeth Shrimpton, widow of Samuel Shrimp- 
ton, Jr., — the farm at Rumney Marsh was valued at £1000. (Suff. Prob. 
Rec, L. 18, ff. 107, 168).] 

" Sumner, 232. 

'^^ [Suff. Deeds, L. 66, ff. 271-277.] 

«^ Sumner, 238, 239, 249. 



Chap. VI] ALLOTMENTS OF LAND 99 

and conceived the project of uniting the two places hv a 
bridge, which would facilitate intercourse between them. In 
1727 he petitioned the town of Boston for leave to construct 
such a bridge. This petition was granted on certain condi- 
tions ; ^'^ but other measures of a more public nature engaging 
his attention, his scheme, though proposed bj a " Bostonian " 
in 1796, was not consummated till more than a century after 
Yeamans proposed it.*'^ 

Sumner ^® gives the following : " Shute Shrimp ton Yea- 
mans . . . and his wife, Matilda Gunthorp, had two daughters 
and a son John, all of whom died young; also a son Shute, 
who died of consumption on his passage to America, June 9, 
1774, aged about twenty years. Shute Shrimpton Yeamans 
died in Richmond, England, Sept. 10, 1709, aged forty-eight 
years." A copy of his will, dated in England, August 4, 1768, 
may be seen in the Suffolk Probate Records. *^^ After various 
legacies, the will goes on to say, — " I give &, devise unto my 
said son Shute Yeamans and his Heirs, my Farm with the 
Appurtenances called or known by the Name of Chelsea Farm 
situate near Boston in jSTew England in JSTorth America and 
now let to Robert Temple Esquire at the Yearly Rent of forty 
pounds sterling Provided always that if my said Son Shute 
Yeamans shall happen to die before he shall attain the Age of 
twenty-one years Then (subject & charged as aforesaid) I 
give & devise my said Farm with the Appurtenances unto my 
said Son John Yeamans & his Heirs." 

By the terms of Shute Shrimpton Yeamans' will, his sons 
dying without issue, his estates in New England became the 
property of his three aunts, Mary Chauncy, Sarah Greenough, 
and Mehetable Hyslop, the daughters of Mr. David Stod- 
dard.*'^ Mrs. Greenough's one third, or two sixths, descended 
to her two children, David S. and William, one sixth to each 
in fee. Mrs. Hyslop's two sixths, to her two children, David 
and Elizabeth, one sixth to each, in fee. Mrs. Chauncy's 
two sixths were divided between Rev. William Greenough 
and Elizabeth (Hyslop) Sumner, the wife of Governor Sum- 

*» Sumner, 240. «' Ibid., 24L 

'" Paf^e 249. " L. 73, f. G97. 

"' [David Stoddard married Mrs. Elizabeth Shrimpton, widow of Samuel 
Shrimpton, Jr.] 



100 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

iier.*'^ Ultimately, David S. Grcenougli became o\\Tier of 
three sixths; '''^ Elizabeth (Hvslop) Sumner, two sixths, and 
David Hyslop, one sixth. ^^ 

Robert Temple, first of the name, tenant of the Xewgate 
Farm, was grandson of Sir Pnrbeck Temple of Stanton Bury, 
England, and was born in Ireland, 1G94. lie married Mehit- 
able, daughter of John Nelson, at Boston, August 11, 1721. 
lie was a vestryman of Christ Church, Boston, April 6, 
1724.'^ He owned the Ten Hills Farm, Charlestown, and 
Avas lessee both of Noddle's Island, and the NeAvgate Farm ; 
of the former, presumably, as early as 1720 ; and of the latter, 
not later than 1742, at £30 per annum.'^ The lease [of March 
25, 1748,] requires the tenant " To break up but 5 Acres of 
s*-^ farm in any one year, & have but 15 Acres of it broken up 
at any one time during this Lease, And ncA^er soav any one 
parcel above three times, & then lay it doAA'n level & in a hus- 
bandlike manner. To spread upon the premises all the fodder 
made there. To bring and spread there tAVo loads of dung 
for every load of fresh or salt hay, they may spare & carry off 
to market." ^^ 

Upon the expiration of this lease, in 1755, John Yeamans 
rcncAved it to Temple, for seven years at the same rent. Dr. 
AVilliam Clarke acting as his attorney.'^ 

'"' Sumner, 253. [See Suff. Deeds, L. 362, f. 137; L. 134, f. 40. The deed 
from Rev. Charles Chauncey and his wife Mary, in 1780, was to take 
efTect after their deatli, and was conditional upon the payment by William 
Creenough and Elizabetli Sumner of one third of the rents of this part of 
tlie farm (that is, one nintli of tlie whole rent), when they came into 
possession tliereof, to David Hyslop.] 

'" [Tlie ownership of the lands in East Boston and Chelsea differed. It 
was William Greenough who owned eventually one half of the farm 
at Chelsea. Suff. Deeds, L. 175, f. 20. For later owners, see Suff. Deeds, 
L. 247, ff. 250-255; L. 525, f. 16, etc.; also the plans of the land, in 1844, 
Lj' Alonzo Lewis and John Low, L. 525, f. 305.] 

" More about John Newgate may be found in Tlie Townshend Family, 
by Charles Hervey Townshend, New Haven, Conn., 1884. [His will and 
the inventory of his estate is in Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 1, ff. 450-453; L. 4, 
ff. 245-249.] 

" Foote, Annals of King's Chapel, i. 324; ii. 177, note, 208. 

" [According to the will of Shute Shrimpton Yeamans, the rent of the 
farm, in 1708, Avas £40. (Sumner, 249.) Temple's tenancy dated, 
apparently, from the year 1734. See Appendix 0.] 

" Sumner, East Boston, 317. 

" Ibid. [Captain Robert Temple died in 1754. His will, dated April 9, 



Chap. VI] ALLOTMENTS OF LAND 101 

In the Rumney-Marsli Rates for 1737, Captain Robert 
Temple is assessed £15-9-4:, the largest sum on the list. May 
27, 1751, Voted, '' that the Select men make enquiry whether 
the tax ... of Cap^. Robert Temple may not be recoverable 
in the Law ; and use their endeavours to obtain the same " ; 
and May 22, 1753, see ^' whether y® Town will abate Cap*^. 
Temple's Rates for y^ last Year w'^^ he refuses to pay." '*^ 
Captain Robert Temple had eleven children, the sixth of 
whom, Robert, was baptized in Christ Church, Boston, March 
10, 1728, and married, June 5, 1755, Harriet, a daughter of 
Governor Shirley; she died in Ireland, in 1802. Like his 
father, he owned Ten Llills Farm and was tenant of the 
Xewgate Farm. He also owned some real estate in Chelsea, 
though so far as is known, he never lived there, nor is his name 
found on the tax list after 1775. He was suspected of being 
a loyalist, and in 1775 took passage at Boston for London; 
but the vessel proving leaky, the captain put into Plymouth. 
In passing through Cohasset, the Committee of Safety of that 
town seized certain letters in his possession, and sent them to 
the general Committee of Safety, with the result, after exam- 
ination, that the Cohasset committee were advised. May 29, to 
deliver to Mr. Temple all the articles in their possession, and 
" consider and treat him as a friend to the interest of this 
country, and the rights of all America." ^^ He was in New 
York, August 13, 1776, and Sir William Howe asked General 
Washington if he had any objections to his landing and going 
to Massachusetts."^ He arrived at Bristol, England, wath his 

was probated April 22. (Wyman. ) The renewal of the lease, in 1755, 
was to the son, Robert Temple.] 

'" Chelsea Town Records, 35, 40. [The last quotation is from the 
warrant for the town meeting of May 22, 1753. The vote was that " The 
Select Men enquire into Facts relating to Capt Temples Lease wch if true 
to prosecute him otherwise to desist."] 

" Journal, Provincial Congress, 559, 560, the " representations to the 
committee" by R. Temple, May 31, 1775; and see Sabine, Loyalists, 
ii. 349. 

" [Land conveyances, with their acknowledgments, show that he was 
living in Cliarlestown, and transacting business there, in 1779 and 1780. 
On March 17, 1778, Robert Temple of Charlestown bought of Samuel 
Clark, a pasture of 32^/4 acres in Chelsea; also September 23, 1779, of 
the heirs of Hon. James Pitts of Boston, 41214 acres, formerly a part 
of the Keayne-Oliver farm in Chelsea. He sold these on November 2, 1779, 
and February 9, 1780, to Nathaniel Tracy of Newburyport, to whom he 



102 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

family, in August, 1780, and died before the close of the war. 
His daughter, Mehitable Hester, who died in 1798, was the 
first wife of the third Lord Dufferin; and their son Robert, 
a captain in the British army, was killed at Waterloo. 

The seventh child of Capt. Temple, Rebecca, married Capt. 
Robert Fenton, of the British army. It was this lady and 
her daughter who were said to have been stripped naked, tarred 
and feathered, and paraded through the streets of Boston by 
the excited patriots, on account of their adhesion to the Crown. 
Though such traditions are seldom without some foundation, 
this seems to rest on no historical basis.^^ 

The ninth child of Captain Robert Temple, John, married 
a daughter of James Bowdoin, afterwards Governor of Massa- 
chusetts, January 20, 1767. He was one of the commissioners 
of the revenue, at Boston, about the beginning of the Revolu- 
tion, was supposed to be favorable to the patriot cause, and 
was removed from his office by reason of his connection with 
the return to Boston of the " Hutchinson Letters." ^° But he 
I'ecovered the royal favor and was made agent and Consul- 
General of Great Britain to the United States. By the death 
of his elder brother, Robert, without male issue, he became, in 
1782, the head of his branch of the Temples, and Sir Richard, 
the seventh baronet, dying without issue, John Temple became 
Sir John.^^ A daughter, Elizabeth Bowdoin Temple, in 1786, 
married Thomas Lindall AVinthrop, afterwards Lieutenant- 
Governor of Massachusetts. 

John Xewgate's allotment, with his purchases, included the 
site of Slade's Mills, which as early as 1688,*^ and prob- 
ably nmch earlier, was known as " Mr. Newgate's Landing 
Place." From it, by way of Chelsea Creek, bulky farm prod- 
ucts were distributed to various points in the upper bay. I 
have not yet learned when or how Boston or Chelsea became 

sold the Ten Hills Farm. (Suff. Deeds, L. 131, ff. 1, 4; L. 132, fT. 155, 
15G.) For other tenants on the Newgate- Yeamans Farm, see Appendix C] 

'" 2 Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc, viii. 412. 

'" [In 1770 he was removed from the position in Boston, went to London, 
was appointed Surveyor General of Customs in Enjihind. was summarily 
dismissed therefrom in 1774, Lord North refusing an explanation — pre- 
siunably for the cause given in the text.] 

" Preface to the Bowdoin and Temple Papers, 6 Coll. Mass. Hist. 
Soc, ix. 

^ Sewall, Diary, i. 210. 



Chap. VI] ALLOTJMENTS OF LAND 103 

o-v\Tier of the Town Landing, nor have I investigated the 
matter as I intend.^^ But I now record such facts as I have 
incidentally noticed. 

[In the warrant for the to^\Ti meeting of] March 7, 1742/3, 
[one item was] " to consider [the] proposall of some Inhabit- 
ants about building a wharf at the to\Aai's landing place " ; [it 
was voted] " that the affair of the Worff be left to May 
Meeting." ^^ 

March 10, 1766, '' Voted to Dismiss the Request wholly, 
inserted in the Warrant Concerning the building of a wharf 
at the Towns Landing." ^^ 

July 22, 1782, " Voted to Grant Cap* James Stower & Cap*^ 
Sam' Clark Liberty to build a wharf anywhere between the 
mill Damb & M'' Tays Fence not exceeding twenty five feet in 
width, for their own benefit & the benefit of the town." ^"^ 

October 16, 1782, " Voted not to grant M^ John Pratt Lib- 
erty to build a House by the mills." ^" 

March 10, 1783, " Voted not to grant M"* John Bucknams 
Petition for having a house plot by the mills. . . . 

" Voted to allow M"* John Pratt a House plot by the mills 
on the TowTi Landing he paying for it: Sixteen foot Square 
or more as the Committee shall think proper ; . . . Cap*- 
Sam' : Clark Joshua Cheever Esq'" M"" Sam'. Floyd [a com- 
mittee] to Stake of Said Land." ^^ 

April 7, '* Voted to Except the Report of the Committee 
that was appointed to Stake out a piece of Land for M"^ John 
Pratt ... as it is Staked out at the northwesterly part of 
the towns Land near the mill dam." ^^ 

" 5. M'". John Sanford, a hundred acrs: bounded on the 
South with M*" Newgate ; on the West with Charlesto\\Tie ; on 
the North with Thomas Marshall; and on the East with the 
highway." 

^ [See Appendix 7.] 

** Chelsea Town Records, i. 10, 11. 

*= Ibid., 120. 

*° Ibid., ii. 76. [See chapter vii. appendix, for the connection of Captain 
Stower, Captain Sprague, and John Bucknam with the mills.] 

" Ibid., 77. 

*« Ibid., 79. 

8» Pages 79, 80. See infra, chap, xxxi., other votes respecting the Town 
Landing ; the erection of a Poor House and a Mill. 



104 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

John Sanford, of Boston, 1G31, in 1632 was cannoneer at 
the fort. Disarmed in 1637 as a supporter of Wheelwright, 
he went to Rhode Island, where he held high offices, and was 
chosen President in 1653.^'^ 

" 6. Thomas Marshall, seventye acrs : bounded on the 
South with M"". Sanford; on the West with Charlestowne ; on 
the North with M'". Keine and Thomas Matson; and on the 
East with the highway." 

Who Thomas Marshall was is not clear, but probably a 
shoemaker,^^ and perhaps the ferryman. Like many of the 
allottees of Rumney Marsh and Pullen Point, he was a sup- 
porter of Wheelwright, and was disarmed ; but afterwards 
held important offices.^^ 

" 7. Thomas Matson, eight and twenty acrs : bounded on 
the South and on the West with Thomas Marshall ; and on 
the Xorth with M'". Keine and Beniamyn Gillam ; and on the 
East with the highway." 

April 29, 1639, " it is now agreed upon that whereas our 
brother Thomas Matson Was Allotted for his great Allotment 
at Rumney Marsh short by the number of twoe heads ; there- 
fore at the next Alloting at Mount Woollystone that it shall 
be made up unto him at the end of the lott he hath now bought 
of our brother Edward Hutchinson, the Elder." ^^ 

°° [The second wife of John Sanford married before 1637, was Bridget, 
daughter of William and Ann Hutchinson, leader in the Antinomian con- 
troversy. See N. E. Hist, and Gen. Reg., Ivi. 295, 290, 409. The little 
Cogan farm was commonly called tianfords Lot according to legal con- 
veyances of 1G78 and 1730. See Appendix 1.] 

'" Suflf. Deeds, L. .3, f. 20. 

"- There was a Captain Thomas Marshall who was admitted freeman in 
1G35, a member of the Artillery Company in 1G40, and six times chosen 
representative to the General Court. [In the list of freemen the name 
Thomas Marshall appears in 1635, 1641, 1644, and 1655, and Thomas Mar- 
shall of Reading in 1653. 0. A. Roberts (Hist, of the Anc. and Hon. 
Artillery Co., i. 108) thinks Captain Marshall was the freeman of 1641. 
According to the date of death and age as there given, he was under 
twenty-one years of age in 1635.1 John Dunton in his Letters, 1686 
(Prince Soc, ed., 264) , speaks of a Captain Marshal, " a hearty old Gentle- 
man, formerly one of Oliver's Souldiers, upon which he very much values 
liimself: He keeps an Inn upon the Road between Boston and Marhle- 
Head : His House was v/ell-furnished, and we had very good Accommo- 
dation." Savage considers him of Reading. See Lewis and Newhall, Hist, 
of Lynn (1865), 155. 

»' Boston Town Records. [He lived later at " Mount Wollystone," i. e., 
Braintree. ] 



Chap. VI] ALLOTMENTS OF LAND 105 

Thomas Matson, a gunsmith of Boston, constable and mili- 
tary officer, is said to have come over with Winthrop. He was 
brother-in-law to Theodore Atkinson, felt maker, who came 
to Boston in the employment of John Newgate. As an ad- 
herent of Wheelwright he was disarmed.^'* 

" 8. Beniamyn Gillam, eight and twenty acrs : bounded 
on the South with Thomas Matson ; on the West with M"". 
Keine; and on the Xorth with John Gallopp; and on the 
East with the highway." 

Benjamin Gillam was a shij? carj^enter, admitted freeman 
in 1635. 

" 9. John Gallopp, nine and forty acrs : bounded on the 
South with Beniamyn Gillam ; on the West and on the North 
with M^. Keine ; and on the East with the highway." 

John Gallopp, of Boston, 1637, married Hannah, daughter 
of JVIargaret Lake, a widow who resided at John Winthrop's. 
He was in the Pequot war, and was one of the six captains at 

^ He leased his lot to Thomas Townsend (see Townshend Family, 50). 
Though I find no record of a conveyance, it seems to have become a part 
of the Newgate Farm. [It is more probable that it became a part of the 
Keayne Farm, as the Sanford allotment, which lay between it and the 
Newgate Farm, became the Little Cogan Farm. See Appendix I.] In 
1636 arose the Antinomian coptroversy in Boston, which, says Bancroft, 
"infused its spirit into everj-thing ; it interfered with the levy of troops 
for the Pequod war; it influenced the respect shown to the magistrates, 
the distribution of town-lots, the assessment of rates; and at last the 
continued existence of the two opposing parties was considered incon- 
sistent with the public peace." I doubt Avhether the charge respecting 
the distribution of town lots is well founded, for the Antinomians had, 
as has been seen, many allotments of the very best land in what was then 
Boston, where they were chiefly found. [Judge Chamberlain assumed that 
the allotments at Rumney Marsh and Pullen Point, recorded in January, 
1637/8, were made during that month, and hence after the trial and 
banishment of Mrs. Hutchinson; but see Appendix 1.] In religious be- 
lief, they held that one " under a covenant of faith " need not concern 
himself about " the covenant of works." The famous Mrs. Hutchinson 
and her kinsman. Rev. John Wheelwright, were their leaders. Their 
opponents, chiefly of the country places, were more numerous and therefore 
more powerful. Besides, they had Governor Winthrop and the Boston 
clergj^ on their side: Vane was with [the Antinomians]. At a synod at 
Newton, August 30, 1837, Mrs. Hutchinson's tenets were condemned; in 
November, she was tried before the General Court and, with [a few] of her 
associates, banished; [many were disarmed]. The stronger party thought 
the state to be in danger, and treated her friends with great harshness; 
but some years later many of those who had been banished returned to 
Massachusetts, and held high offices. 



lOG HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

the Xarragansett-Swamp figlit against King Philip, lOtli 
December, 1675. His daughter married John Cole of Boston. 
Like so many other allotments, his was united either to the 
Keayne, or to the Newgate farm.^^ 

" 10. M"". Robte Keine, three hundred and f ourteene acrs : 
hounded on the South with Thomas Marshall, Thomas Matson 
and John Gallopp ; on the West with CharlestowTie ; and on 
the East with Beniamin Gillam, John Gallopp, and the 
highway." 

Of Captain Robert Keayne — as he wrote his name — we 
shall hear more.^" 

" 11. M"". John Coggeshall, twoe hundred acrs: bounded 
on the South with M"". Keine and M^. Cogan ; on the West 
with Charlestowne ; on the Xorth with Saugust ; and on the 
East with the Sandy beach unto the mouth of Saugust River." 

This is the most northerly part of Revere, from Maiden to 
the sea, and apparently in part, at least, is in the " Pan- 
handle." He sold his allotment to John Cogan, by deed not 
recorded. 

John Coggeshall, a mercer, who came in 1G32, was a short 
time at Roxbury, and then removed to Boston. Like many of 
the allottees of Rumney Marsh, friends of Wheelwright, he 
was expelled from the General Court, disarmed and banished. 
He went to Rhode Island, where he held many offices, and 
finally became president of the colony. 

" 12. M''. John Cogan, two hundred and tenn acrs : bounded 
on the North with M"*. John Coggeshall ; on the East with the 
beach ; on the South with M''. Harding ; and on the West with 
the highway." 

By the purchase of the Coggeshall allotment, Cogan's estate 
extended northerly to the Pines River,''^ and became one of 
the largest in Rumney Marsh.*^^ 

*' [See Appendix 1.] 

•" See infra, cliap. xix. 

•" The boundaries of the Keayne, Cojxgesliall, and Copran allotments 
are not determinable with precision. Keayne's northern line is not given; 
but on a plan from actual survey, in 16iS8, it extended to the Creek, or 
Pinos River, and has ever since. Coggeshall's allotment, from Maiden 
on the west to the beach on the east, had Keayne's and Cogan's to the 



This note has been placed as an appendix to this chapter, — No. 9. 



Chap. VI] ALLOTMENTS OF LAND 107 

June 13, 1659, "ordered that the title of the land in M"". 
Cogans hand shall be prosecuted bj the select men." ^^ Octo- 
ber 26, 1610, " The Bridge [over the brook on the road to 
" Black Ann's corner "] to bee built at Romney marsh is 
to be donne with all speede, and M^". Cogan hath undertaken to 
see the same donne for the Towne of Boston." 

John Cogan of Boston, merchant, had been at Dorchester 
in 1632, and was freeman in 1633. In 1652 he married for 
his second wife, the widow, first of Thomas Coytemore, and 
secondly of Governor AYinthrop.^'^*'^ He died in 1658. In 1652, 
he gave to Harvard College, for the use of the President and 
Fellows, so long as they and their successors profess and teach 
the good knowledge of God's Holy Word and works, etc., a 
parcel of marsh in Rumney Marsh, then estimated at seventy 
acres, but which appears to have since dwindled to fifty 
acres. ^"^^ 



south of it, and thus cut them off from the Creek. From Cogan's 
nortlierly boundary, it is certain that he did not touch it. Coggeshall 
sokl his estate to Cogan, who thus went up to the Creek; and Cogan, by 
deed March 25, 1653 (Suff. Deeds, L. 1, f. 294), sold to Samuel Ben- 
net all that part of the Coggeshall purchase " A'pon the Nortlierly side 
of a great Creeke extending from the Sea westerly the lands of Capt Robert 
Kayne lying vpon the Southerly side of the said Creeke." From this 
it may be inferred that Keayne then bordered vipon the Creek ; and inas- 
much as Coggeshall's allotment originally was between Keayne and the 
Creek, that by some unrecorded deed, he had acqviired title. [October 1, 
1649, Valentine Hill and John Leveret convej'ed to "Sam: Bennet of 
Lin " 600 acres '' bounded on the southward wth Capt Robert Keines 
flferme (a certaine Creek dividing betweene the sd fferme & it) wth the line 
of the bounds of Charlstowne westward : the line of Lin bounds East- 
ward, & northward to the vttermost bounds of Boston in that place." 
Thus the title of Robert Keayne to land as far north as the Pines River 
was recognized as early as 1649. (See Appendix 1.) The grantors to 
Bennett added the postscript: "The certaine bounds of ye land we knowe 
not, but or interest in the land in that place according to the grant wee 
firme to." (See Boston Town Records, Jime 24, 1G50.) That John Cogan 
held and improved lands north of the creek as a part of his purchase from 
Coggeshall seems certain, for a dwelling-house is mentioned in his deed 
of sale to Bennett. Also on October 1, 1645, John Cogan mortgaged "his 
fferme at the Rocks goeing to Lin, wth the dwelling house barne & other 
appurtenances, & foure oxen & foure Cowes wch are in the Custody of the 
tenant." Sufi". Deeds, L. 1, f. 68.] 

'■'" Town Records. [See Appendix 8.] 

100 [por a rumour that she contemplated a fourth marriage, see 3 Coll. 
Mass. Hist. Soc, x. 45.] 

101 peiice, Hist, of Harvard University, 16; Boston Rec. Com. Rep., v. 70. 



108 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

"13. M'". Robte Harding, a hundred acrs: bounded on 
the North with M^'. Cogan; on the East with the Beach; on 
the South with Xicholis Willys; and on the West with the 
highway." 

Robert Harding came with Winthrop. He was a captain 
and selectman, but joining Mrs. Hutchinson's party, was dis- 
armed in 1637 ; and yet of the Artillery Company in 1G38, in 
which year he removed to Rhode Island, where he held im- 
portant offices. He returned to England, and was a merchant 
there. 

May 11, 1639, Robert Harding sold half of his allotment, 
about fifty acres of upland and marsh, to Richard Tuttell for 
£33 6s. 8d., " bounded towards the ISTorth by a strait line 
parting betweene it and the other half of my pper Allotment, 
Towards the East by the Comon sewer [shore?], Towards the 
South it Adioyneth to Certaine lands purchased by the said 
Richard Tuttell ; towards the West by the Comon High 
Way." ^02 

" 14. Nicholis Willys, nyne and forty acrs: bounded on 
the North with M^ Harding; on the East with the Beach; on 
the South with ; and on the west with the high- 

way." 

Willys, a Boston mercer, died in 1650. December 27, 1638, 
he sold his allotment of forty-nine acres of upland and marsh 
for £30 12 s. Gd. to Richard 'Tuttell.^*^^ 

"15. John Odlin, fourscore and foure Acrs: bounded on 
the Xortli with Xicholis Willys; and on the South with 

[Tn June, 1052, John Coj^an ^ave livery and soizen to Henry Dunster, 
then President of Harvard College. January 1(5, 1654/5, the gift -was 
confirmed and defined under tlie signatures of John Cogan and Henry 
Dunster. It provided that " if any of the cliildren or grandeliildren of 
the said Jolin shall come to be students in tlie said colledge then tliey shall 
personally enjoy tlie yearly revenue of the said land during their con- 
tinuance in or relation to the said Colledge as students." This convey- 
ance Mas recorded June 27, 1770, with a plot of the land by Jno Gardner, 
showing 53 acres, 137 poles. (SuiT. Deeds, L. 117, f. 102). February 7, 
1832, when Harvard College sold the marsh to Edward H. Robbins (L. 357, 
f. 292), it was estimated to contain 60 acres. In 1093 it was let to " Richd 
Hood, Nath. Ingolls & Robt Potter" for eight pounds a year. Proc. 
^lass. Hist. Soc., vi. 349. It bordered on the Pines River; since 1S03 the 
Salem Turnpike, later known as Broadway, has crossed its western end.] 

^"^ Boston Town Records, October 28, 1639. 

i"" Ibid., January 21, 1638/9. 



Chap. VI] ALLOTMENTS OF LAND 109 

Richard Tuttell ; on the East with the beach, and on the high- 
way to the West," 

Odlin, a cutler, was disfranchised as Antinomian, J^ovem- 
ber, 1637. lie died December 18, 1685, aged eighty-three. 
He sold his lot for £29 8s. to Richard Tuttell, July 19, 1638.i^^ 

SOME OF THE ALLOTMENTS AT PULLEN POINT NECK 

" William Stidson, 30 Acrs of upland and marsh together ; 
bounded towards the North and North East by the said Allott- 
ments of John Oliver and Thomas Fayreweather, towards the 
East by the aforesaid northermost Creeke, and towards the 
south by the Allottments of Edward Baytes, and towards 
the West by the Common highway aforesaid." ^°^ 

''Edward Bayts, 14 Acrs of upland and marsh together: 
bounded towards the North by the said Allottment of William 
Stidson, towards the East by the said Northermost Creeke, 
towards the South by the Allotment of Thomas Matson, and 
towards the West by the said highway." 

Edward Bates, Boston, 1633, was disarmed as a friend of 
Wheelwright.^'^ *^ 

"Thomas Matson, 28 Acrs of upland and marsh together: 
bounded towards the North by the said Allotment of Ed. 
Bayts, towards the East by Fishers Creeke, towards the West 
by the said Way, and towards the South by the Allottment of 
M*-. Edward Gibones." ^f*^ 

" ]\F. Edward Gibones, 110 Acrs of upland and marsh 
together : bounded towards the North by the Allottment of 
the said Thomas Matson, towards the East and South by 

"^ Ibid., December 24, 1638. The allotments of Harding, Willis, and 
Odlin formed the basis of Richard Tuttle's great estate in Revere on the 
easterly side of the turnpike. [See infra, the allotment to Tuttle.] 

^"^ [The notes on William Stidson are in chapter iii. Judging by the 
boundaries of adjoining estates, his allotment became a part of Went- 
worth Dave's farm. Infra, Appendix 10.] 

^°® [He was admitted to tlie Boston church in November, 1633; was 
excommunicated November 9, 1642, for "thefts, lyes & immorality," was 
received again into the church April 28, 1644. His allotment became the 
property of Captain John Leverett before January 4, 1657/8. (Suff. 
Deeds, L. 3, f. 92. ) ] 

107 [Presumably this allotment was purchased by Edward Gibbons, for 
January 4, 16.")7/8, Gibbons' farm was bounded on the north by land 
formerly belonging to "Edward Betts." (Suff. Deeds, L. 3, f. 92.)] 



I 



110 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

Fishers Creoke, and the Common shore, and towards the West 
by the said highway." ^^^ 

Edward Gibbons, a Boston merchant, was one of the most 
interesting characters of liis day in Massachusetts ; though his 
early life was rather wild, and all of it full of romance, scarcely 
any one rendered more varied services. But at no time was [his 
chief residence at] Pullen Point, and it is as an allottee of land 
there, that his career is followed here. AYhen, whence, or to 
what part of New England, he came, is now unknown. Am- 
brose Gibbons, a man of note and possibly a relative, came to 
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1630 ; but Edward Gibbons, 
Savage says, " of Charlestown 1630, had some years earlier 
lived among the church of misrule at Mount "Wollaston, but 
was seriously impressed by the service, 1629, at the ordina- 
tion of Iligginson and Skelton " at Salem, and was " early 
admitted into the Boston church, being No. 113." ^*^° Though 
living at Charlestown, he probably retained his Boston church 
membership, as his son Jotham was baptized there October 27, 
1633. He was freeman May 18, 1631, and Savage says " re- 
moved soon to Boston i^^*^ was representative 1635; of the 
artillery company 1637; its captain 1639, 1641, 1646, and 
1654; major-general in 1649; assistant in 1650; and died 
December 9, 1654." 

Notwithstanding his serious impressions in 1629, he suf- 
fered a relapse, though perhaps venial, and in August, 1631, 
was fined (as has been said) twenty shillings, with others in 
a less sum, " for abuseing themselues disorderly with drinke- 
ing to much stronge drinke aboard the Frendshipp, & att M"^ 
Maflacke his bowse at Winettsem*." ^^^ 

^"* See supra, p. 90. 

^»» Savaf^e, Winthrop, i. 192, note; Gen. Diet. 

"" I think that Savage is wrong. Tlie earliest mention of Gibbons in 
the Boston Records is January 9, 1030/7, — the date of his allotment, 
which implies that he was then an inhabitant of that town; but he was 
of Charlestown, May 9, 1032 (Mass. Col. Rec., i. 95), and as late as 
January, 1030 ( Frothingham, 80, 85). It is probable, therefore, that 
between January, 1030, and January, 1037, he removed from Charlestown 
to Boston. 

"^ Mass. Col. Rec., i. 90. Samuel Maverick's house in 1031 was at 
Winnisimmet, though Johnson ( Wonder-Working Providence, chap, xvii.) 
erroneously located it on Noddle's Island. But relying too implic- 
itly on Frothingham (Hist, of Charlestown, 59, note 2), I assigned 
Gibbons' house " in the maine," in 1030, to Maiden. (2 Proc. Mass. Hist. 



Chap. VI] ALLOTMENTS OF LAND 111 

Gibbons' allotment at Winthrop included Thornton's Sta- 
tion, near which is a great elm, under which once stood a 
farm house probably built by him, and torn down in 1860, 
having been previously occupied by Washington Tewksbury 
and Samuel Floyd. • Gibbons' residence was in Boston after 
his removal from Charlestown ; his farm house at Pullen 
Point may have been erected before 1641, for Winthrop ^^^ 
says that " Capt. Gibbons and his wife, with divers on foot by 
them, came riding from his farm at Pullen point, right over 
to Boston, the 17th of the 12th month [February 17, 1641/2], 
when it had thawed so much as the water was above the ice 
half a foot in some places." 

This, also, is from Winthrop: ^^^ — June 12, 1643, "Mr. 
La Tour arrived here in a ship of 140 tons, and 140 per- 
sons . . . came from Rochclle . . . took a pilot out of one 
of our boats at sea, and left one of their men in his place. 
Capt, Gibbons' wife and children passed by the ship as they 
were going to their farm, but being discovered to La Tour by 
one of his gentlemen who knew her, La Tour manned out a 
shallop, which he towed after him, to go speak with her. She 
seeing such a company of strangers making towards her, hast- 
ened to get from them, and landed at the governour's garden. 
La Tour landed presently after her, and there found the gov- 
ernour and his wife, and two of his sons, and his son's wife, 
and after mutual salutations he told the governour the cause 
of his coming, viz. that this ship being sent him out of France, 
D'Aulnay, his old enemy, had so blocked up the river to his 
fort at St. John's, with two ships and a galliot, as his ship 
could not get in, whereupon he stole by in the night in his 
shallop, and was come to crave aid to convey him into his 
fort." The whole story is too long for this place. It may be 
said, however, that not only was Mrs. Gibbons alarmed, but 

Soc, i. 368). Tins was a mistake, for before 1633, when a large territory- 
north of the Mystic was assigned to Charlestown it had no allotable land 
there. In 1634, after its enlargement, each inhabitant, Frothingham says 
(Hist., 56), had an allotment of ten acres at " Mistick Side"; but the 
Town Records (p. 73 [821) give "The first Division of Lands one Mistick 
syde," which the editor says "was made 6th, first month, 1637." [See 
D. P. Corey, Hist, of Maiden, 59.] 

"^ Hist, of New Eng. (Savage ed. ), ii. 60. 

"' Ibid., 107. 



112 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

the governor himself, when he saw that he and his family, and 
all the ordnance of the Castle-Island, which had been deserted 
by order of the Court, were in the power of a stranger, to 
whom an unobstructed way to Boston was open ; but La Tour's 
purposes were not hostile. Serious consequences, however, 
ensued to Gibbons, for he loaned large sums to La Tour which 
were never repaid, and Gibbons died poor. Much of his 
history is in Winthrop and Frothingham, and his genealogy 
in Wyman ; but neither belongs to Chelsea.^ ^"^ 

" These are of the gi-eat allottments at Rumley Marsh and 
Pullen Point. 

" M"^". Richard Tuttell, a hundred threescore and one acres : 
bounded on the North with , on the East with the 

Beach, on the South with M''. Glover, and on the West with 
the highway." ^^^ 

Richard Tuttle, from London in 1G35, was a husbandman, 
and his family, unlike those of many of the Revere allottees, 
cultivated their ancestral acres. He died May 8, 1640, aged 
forty-seven, leaving a widow Anne and minor children. Their 
only son John, then aged fifteen, finally took the Rumney 
Marsh farm, and the daughters the property in Boston.^ ^^ 

"^ [This note has been placed as an appendix to this chapter, — No. 10.] 
'" In the Book of Possessions, compiled about 1052 and printed Avith 
the Town Records of Boston, are oriven the possessions of Anne Tvittle, 
among which is " a Farme at Rumney ]\Iarsh, bounded with John Coggan 
on the north; Samuel Cole on the south; the sea on the east: and the 
hififh way on the west." The south boundary by Cole is noticeable. 
Between Tuttle's allotment on the north and Cole's on the south were 
those of Glover and D3'ar, extending from the highway on the west to the 
beach on the east. As will appear. Glover's became part of the Newgate 
Farm. And as Mrs. Tuttle's south boundary was by Cole, it is probable 
that John Tuttle acquired that of Dyar. [The Dyar allotment became a 
part of the Cole Farm, and the Glover, of the Tuttle or the Cole Farm. 
Infra, note 119.] Tuttle also purchased, as has been seen, the allotments 
of Harding, Willys, and Odlin. His estate thus became very large, and 
with that of John Cogan (afterwards the Floyd estate) included the 
greater part of Revere easterly of the Turnpike. 

"° [John Tuttle described himself as " Jno Tuttle Senr of Rumney 
Marsh and Boston in New Eng<5." He left a house and land in the pen- 
insula of Boston to his sons. During his lifetime, November 7, 1G84, he 
gave part of that lot at the North End of Boston that appears in the 
Book of Possessions as the property of his mother, Anne Tuttle, to his 
two married daughters, Mary, wife of Caleb Carter, and Sarah, wife of 
Joseph Newell, both of Charlestown. Suff. Deeds, L. 13, flf. 205, 212. See 
infra, Appendix 11.] 



Chap. VI] ALLOTMENTS OF LAND 113 

February 10, 1646/7, John married Mary, daughter of Ed- 
ward Holyoke of Lynn and had sons, John, Edward, Elisha, 
and Jonathan, and daughters, Mary, Sarah, and Rebecca. 
His will was probated March 31, 1687, and his farm then 
consisted of six hundred acres. It was divided between the 
sons, April 2, 1690.^^^ The bounds and division may be given 
as follows: Beginning at the northwest corner of the estate 
of the late B. H. Dewing (Dr. Phillips Payson's parsonage), 
run thence southeasterly to the beach. Returning to said 
corner, run southwesterly by Dewing's westerly bound to and 
across Maiden Street, over the hill into the valley; thence 
turn and cross Beach Street at the Church corner, and run 
southeasterly between the Hastings and Pinkham estates, and 
the north line of the town burial ground, on a straight line 
over the hill into the marsh between Beachmont and Crescent 
Beach. John's dwelling-house was on the hill lately levelled 
at that beach ; Edward's, on the south side of Revere Street 
just east of Dewing's pasture fence ; Elisha's on the west side 
of School Street, lately occupied by Ephraim Tewksbury; 
and Jonathan's on the north side of Beach Street, last occupied 
by Deacon Joseph Harris.-^ ^^ 

" M"". Glover, nyne and f ortie acrs : bounded on the 

]^orth with M'^'. Tuttell, on the East with the Beach, on the 
South with M''. Dyar, and on the West with the highway." 

Jose Glover, an English rector, contracted with Stephen 
Day of Cambridge, England, to come over with a printing 
press. Glover died on the passage, and his widow married 

'" Suff. Deeds, L. 29, f. 273. [The division was dated March 20, 1689; 
acknowledged April 2, 1690; recorded August 10, 1715. Reference is 
therein made to a plat of the land by William Johnson of Woburn.] 

"^ For some of the facts above I am indebted to an article by B. H. 
Dewing, in Revere Journal, April 23, 1887. The Harris estate was part 
of Cole's allotment. Cole sold it to William Halsey (Hasey) March 24, 
1653/4 (SufF. Deeds, L. 2, f. 4). This part at least came to be owned 
by the Tuttle family; for in 1730 and 1731 Josiah Tuttle, Jonathan 
Tuttle, and Samuel Paine and wife released their interest in it, as heirs 
of Jonathan Tuttle, to Jacob Chamberlain (ibid., L. 46, f. 131; L. 51, 
ff. 122, 123), whose widow sold it in part to Hon. Samuel Watts; and in 
1782 his heirs sold the same to William Harris, in whose family it now 
remains. [A careful examination of the deeds recorded in the Suffolk 
Registry shows that the Harris estate never formed a part of the Cole 
allotment; it descended to Jonathan Tuttle from his father, John 
Tuttle. See Appendix 11.] 
VOL. I. — 8 



114 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

Henry Dimster, the first president of Harvard College. One 
of liis daughters married x\dam Winthrop ; another, Deane 
AVinthrop; another, John Appleton. The Glover allotment 
was sold for £24 lOs., by Elizabeth Glover, widow, to John 
Newgate, September 23, 1639, by deed unrecorded; and the 
^Newgate farm was thus extended to tide water, at or near 
what is now Slade's Mill.^^^ There was a '" Newgate landing " 
on the Creek ; and not far away, on Mill Street, still stands 
(1895) the old Newgate, Shrimpton, or Yeamans house, be- 
fore alluded to. 

" M^ William Dyar, twoe and fortie aers : bounded on the 
North with M'". Glover, on the East with the Beach, on the 
South with M*". Cole, and on the West with the highway." 

William Dyre, (as he wrote his name,) clerk of the [Com- 
missioners of the town] for raising a new fortification on Fort 
Hill in 1636, was a milliner from London, and in 1037 was 
disarmed as a supporter of Wheelwright, disfranchised, and 
in 1638 driven to Rhode Island, where he became secretary 
of the colony. He was the husband of Mary Dyer, executed 
in 1660 as a Quaker. 

" M*". Samuoll Cole, a hundred and five acrs : bounded on 
the North with M"". Hyar, on the East with the Beach, on the 
South with M"". William Brenton, and on the West with the 
highway." 

Samuel Cole came with Winthrop, and was one of the 
founders of the Artillery Company in 1637. His third wife 
was the widow of Robert Keayne. In 1633 he opened the 
first house of entertainment in Boston, but in 1635 he fell 
under the displeasure of the Court, — " Sam" Cole hath for- 

"° [Tlie Glover allotment did not touch INIill River. To the South, 
between it and tiie river, lay the lands of Dyar, Cole, and Brenton. 
The Newfjate landing and Slade's mill must have stood within the allot- 
ment to William Brenton. In September, 1039, when Elizabeth Glover 
sold the 49 acres mentioned in the text, they abutted " upon the sea 
towards the east upon the high way leading to the Lotts of Divers men 
towards the west, on the lands of Richard Tuthill towards the north and 
on the lands of Samuel Cole towards the south." (Chamberlain MSS., 
iii. 174.) Thus Cole must have acquired the Dyar allotment, which in 
1037/8 was Glover's southern boundary. That of Glover became a part 
of the Cole or the Tuttle Farm, for in the Book of Possessions the latter 
had for its southern boundary the lands of Samuel Cole. See notes 52 and 
115; also Appendi.x 1.] 



Chap. VI] ALLOTMENTS OF LAND 115 

fected xx^. for selling 2 quarts of beare at ij*' a quart." Two 
months before this he and others had been '' licensed to keepe 
seuall ordinaryes in the plantacons where they lyve dure- 
ing the pleasure of y^ Court." But in 1G37 he was again 
" fined 10 sh^ for selling a quart of beare at 2^., & was licensed 
to sell such claret & white wine as is sent for." The same 
year, " being con vented for haveing had much disorder in his 
house, selling wine contrary to order, & beare above the price 
ordered, his dew for wine was iudged 10', & hee was further 
fined 20', w*^'^ is togethe'" 30'." This was a bad year for the 
publican. He was disarmed as a supporter of Wheelwright. 
But the next year affairs took a more favorable turn, as his fine 
was " respited till the next Court," and he had " liberty to sell 
his house for an inne." In 1G38, he again fell into disgrace 
for the old sin of selling beer at two pence a quart. But he 
soon found gTace ; for in September, having forfeited one 
pound, it was reduced to ten shillings, and being fined £30 
(the old fine) and owing £10 more, it was remitted to £15; 
and in 1G39 he was granted £10 to clear his account. We can- 
not pursue his history further. He o^\^led one hundred five 
acres of real estate at Runmey Marsh, but his extortionate 
sales of beer were made in Boston, and there was his disorderly 
house.^^'^ 

" AP. William Brenton, a hundred sixtie and f oure acrs : 
bounded on the North with M"". Cole, on the East with the 
Beach, on the South with M*". William Aspinwall, and on the 
West with the high way." 

William Brenton is said to have come to Boston with John 
Cotton in 1633. He was selectman and representative. For 
some time he was in Rhode Island, and governor there. He 
contributed to the erection of the town house, which stood on 
the site of the old State House in Boston. Sir Jahleel Bren- 
ton, Vice- Admiral of the Blue, was a descendant. 

" M^. W^illiam Aspinwall, a hundred sixtie and foure acrs : 
bounded on the North with M''. Brenton, on the East with the 
Beach and M^. Pierce, and on the South and on the West point 
with Crooked lane." 

William Aspinwall probably came over with W^inthrop in 

"" [This note has been placed as an appendLx to this chapter, — No. 12.] 



116 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

1630. lie was chosen representative in the place of Sir Henry 
Vane, who went home in 1637. As a follower of Mrs. Hutch- 
inson, he was fined eight shillings, disarmed and hanished. 
He went to Rhode Island, but returned, and became recorder 
and a member of the Artillery Company. 

Aspinwall had a " little house " at Pullen Point in 
1637/8.^^^ • By deed unrecorded he sold his allotment to James 
Penn, elder of the First Church of Christ in Boston, who 
owned it in 1643. By his will, dated September 29, 1671,^-^ 
he devised his " Farme at Pullin point," to his kinsman Penn 
TowTisend, to be enjoyed after his wife's decease, '' provided 
that hee pay tenn pounds yeerly out of the ffarme to my over- 
seers and after their death to the Elders and deacons of the 
first Church of Christ in Boston Successively forever by them 
to bee disposed of for the maintenance of Such poore Scollar 
or Scollars at the Colledge as they shall see good." This 
annuity continued until 1866, when the General Court author- 
ized the elders and deacons of the First Church to release the 
same on satisfactory terms. 

Penn Townsend, by will August 10, 1721,^^^ devised the re- 
mainder of his estate, real and personal, to his two daughters 
Sarah Thayer and Ann Sale, and their then present husbands, 
for their natural lives, and then to his grandchildren. The 
property finally came into the Sale family, and in later years 
has been known as the Sale Farm, now owned by the Boston 
Land Company.^ ^^ 

THE QUANTITIES AND BOUNDS OF THE LOTS AT 
PULLEN POINT NECK 

" ]\P. William Aspinwall, 22 acrs of upland at the nether- 
most point of the necke, towards the south: it is bounded by 
the Allottment of Thomas Buttalph, and towards the West by 
the 6 acrs of marsh granted to M*". John Sanford." 

'^^ Savage, Winthrop, i. 251. 

'^ [The will was probated October 23, 1671. Penn Townsend was a 
nephew of James Penn, and inherited also Penn's house in Boston. Suff. 
Proh. Rec., L. 7, ff. 153, 154. See also Appendix 13.] 

■-' [He died August 21, 1727, aged 75 years 8 months; his will was 
probated August 2fi. Suff. Prob. Rec., L. 25'. f. 458.] 

^ [This note has been placed as an appendix to this chapter, — No. 13.] 



Chap. VI] ALLOTMENTS OF LAND 117 

" John Sanford, 6 acrs of Marsh, bounded towards the 

I*^orth I |, towards the East by the Upland of William 

Aspinwall, towards the South by the AUottment of Thomas 
Buttalph, towards the \Yest by the AUottment of the Gover- 
nor, M'". John Winthropp, sen""." ^^s 

" Thomas Buttalph, | | acrs of Upland and Marsh : 

bounded towards the East and north East by the Sea shore, 
towards the South and South East by the Allotment of William 
Peirce, towards the West and southwest by the AUottment of 
Thomas Fayreweather, towards the North and North West by 
the abovesaid land of William Aspinwall." 

January 29, 1637/8, " Thomas Buttall is granted a great 
Lott at Pullen Point necke for six heads." ^^^ In the Book of 
Possessions, is the following entry among others : " 6. Also 
at Pulling point twenty fyve Acres upland bounded with the 
sea northeast: M^'. Pierce southeast: James Pen northwest: 
John Webb and John Oliver southwest." ^^^ 

" M^'. John Winthrop, sen^'-. Governor : 50 acrs of Upland 
and Marsh together: bounded towards the North by the great 
salt Creeke compassing Hog Island, Easterly towards the East 
by John Sanfords 6 acrs of Marsh, towards the South and 
south East by the said AUottment of Thomas Buttalph and 
Thomas Faireweather, and towards the West by the AUott- 
ment of John Oliver.^ ^^ 

"' [Judging by the bounds of the Buttalph and Oliver farms, this marsh 
became the property of Edward Hutchinson.] 

"" Boston Town Records. [See Appendix L] 

^" Book of Possessions, in Boston Rec. Com. Rep., ii. [" 7. Also seven 
acres of marsh more or lesse bounded with his own upland east: the 
River west: Edward Hutchinson, Junior, south: and James Pen 
north." Ibid. October 18, 1C59, Thomas and Ann Buttolph of Boston 
conveyed to Deane Winthrop of Pullen Point for £110, " theire dwelling 
house & yard Barne & leantoo," with 32 acres of upland bounded north- 
east on the sea, southeast on Deane Winthrop, northwest on Elder James 
Penn, southwest on Wm. Burnell ; and 10 acres of salt marsh bounded 
northwest on a creek, southwest on marsh of Edward Hutchinson, northeast 
on Elder Penn. (Suff. Deeds, L. 3, f. 380.) Thomas Buttolph, a leather 
dresser or glover, came in the Abigail from London, in 1635, aged 32, with 
wife Ann, aged 24. He joined the Boston Church September 22, 1639, 
and his wife, Ann, September 28. He was a freeman, June 2, 1641, and 
died in 1667.] 

'^* [From the bounds of adjoining farms, it may be inferred that John 
Oliver acquired this land. The sale-price of the Oliver farm confirms this 
impression. (See Appendix 10.) Note also that John Winthrop conveyed 



118 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

"John Oliver, 50 Acrs of upland and marsh together: 
bounded towards the North by the said great Creeke, towards 
the East by the said Allottinent of the Governor, M''. John 
Winthrop, sen'"-, towards the south by the Allottments of 
Thomas Faireweather and William Stidson of Wynesemitt, and 
towards the West by the Allottment of William Brenton.^^^ 

" Willyam Brenton, 64 acrs of Upland and Marsh together: 
bounded towards the Xorth by said great Creeke, towards the 
East by the said Allottment of John Olyver, towards the South 
by the Allotment of William Stidson, and towards the West by 
the Common shore.^^^ 

" Elias Mavericke, 12 Acrs of upland: bounded towards the 
]!Corth by the Common shore, towards the East by an highway 
2 rodd in breadth, running betweene the Lotts over the Neck, 
towards the south by the Allottment of Valentine Ilill, and 
towards the West by the Common shore.-' ^^ 

" Yalentyne Hill, 60 Acrs of Upland : bounded towards the 
north by the said Allottment of Elias Mavericke, towards the 
East by the said high way, towards the South by the Allott- 
ment of Raph Hudson, and towards the West and southwest 
by the Common shore." 

Valentine Hill, Boston, 1636, a mercer from London, was 
of the Artillery Company, 1639, and freeman in 1640. He 
lived some time at Dover, and died in 1660. He sold land, 
apparently a part of his allotment, to Samuel Cole, May 20, 
1645; ^^^ perhaps included in Cole's deed to William Halsey, 
March 24, 1653/4. 

'' Ilaph Hudson, 50 Acrs: bounded towards the north by 
the said Allottment of Valentyne Hill, towards the East by the 
said highway, and towards the south and southwest by the 
common shoare." 

January 29, 1637/8, "our brother M"*. Raph Hudson is 

to liis son, in 1647, a farm estimated to contain 200 acres — no bounds 
being given — wbile in the Book of Possessions Deane Winthrop is 
accredited with a farm of but 120 acres, the boundaries showing that it 
did not include this parcel of land.] 

'■" [Sold to James Bill in IGCG. {Infra, Appendix 10.)] 
"" [This allotment, with that of William Stidson, may have consti- 
tuted the farm of Wentworth Day. Note the bounds of the farm as given 
in Appendix 10.] 

"' [The notes on Elias Maverick will be found in chapter iii.] 

"^ Suff. Deeds, L. 1, f. 59. [This land was on the Boston peninsula.] 



Chap. VI] ALLOTMENTS OF LAND 119 

granted his great Lott there [Pullen Point ISTeck] for six 
heads." ^^^ 

Ralph Hudson was a woollen draper, who came from Lon- 
don in 1G35.134 

" Thomas Fayreweather, 30 Acrs of Upland and Marsh 
together; bounded towards the J^orth and JSTorthwest by the 
Allottments of the Governor, M''. John Winthrop, sen*^"-, and 
John Oliver, towards the East and north East by the affore- 
said AUottment of Thomas Buttalph, towards *the south and 
southeast by the Allottment of William Peirce, towards the 
south west by the afforesaid Allottment of William Stidson. 

" Thomas Fayreweather, 4 Acrs of upland at the Easter- 
most corner of Rapli Hudsons: bounded by his said Allott- 
ment towards the North and West, towards the East by the 
said high way, and by the Common shore towards the 
South." 

Thomas Fayreweather came to Boston early, perhaps with 
Winthrop. ^^^ 

"^ Town Records. 

"* [Ralph Hudson, by will dated September 24, 1638, gave to his wife 
Mary, with other property, " my great lott Contayning 46 Acres lying 
at Pullen Point " for life, and after her death, to his daughter Hannah 
and her heirs, if she had children. Hannah married John Leverett, and 
had two children, Hudson and Hannah. The will was probated November 
20, 1651, — the same day as that of the widow, Mary Hudson. The latter 
was dated September 26, 1651. (Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 1, ff. 59, 60; also 
N. E. Hist, and Gen. Reg., iv. 53, 54, 12.5-133.) The Court in approving 
the will of Mary Hudson excepted a house and garden in Boston, and " a 
great lott of forty Sixe acres at pullen Pointe wch is given by the will 
of the said Mary Hudson Contrary to Ralfe Hudsons will hir husband 
wch the Court Resolved was more then Shee had power to Doe." (Suff. 
Prob. Rec, L. 2, f. 36.) Apparently this became a part of Edward 
Hutchinson's farm. See Appendix 10.] 

"° [Mary, widow of Thomas Fayreweather, married John Evered alins 
Webb of Boston, also known as Ensign John Webb. (Suff. Deeds, L. 6, 
f. 47.) See Lechford's Note Book, 60, 65, for two drafts of a conveyance, 
imder date June 21, 1639, dividing these lands between herself and pro- 
posed husband, and her son John Fayreweather (Commander at the Castle 
in 1689). December 15, 1639, John Webb (otherwise Everett) was ad- 
monished by the Boston church because he feasted with the ungodly on a 
fast day ; but on the 26th of the following month he was " Reconciled to 
the Church." He became the owner of a large tract of land on the northern 
side of the Merrimack River, and in 166.3-5 represented Chelmsford in the 
General Court. October 17, 1668, "John Web, alias, Everit, pursuing a 
Whale, was caught in ye rope, twisted about his middle, & being drawn into 
ye sea, was dro\vned." Boston Rec. Com. Rep., vi, 207. His estate was 



120 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. Vl 

" Willyam Peirce, 100 Acrs of Upland and Marsh together: 
bounded towards the north and northwest by the said Allott- 
nients of Thomas Fayroweather and Thomas Buttalph, to- 
wards the East and south East by the sea shore, and towards 
the southwest by the said Allottment of the Governor." 

William Peirce came in 1633 with Cotton, Hooker, and Gov- 
ernor Haynes; was freeman, selectman; and died in 1641. ■'■^^ 

" All the Remainder of the land, both upland and marsh, to 
the southward' of the northermost Creeke running up out of 
Fishers Creeke or Cove, and from the southwest End of Peirces 
Lott to Pulling Point Gutt, being Compassed on all the sides 
with the Sea, save onely where it Joyneth to M"". Peirce, be- 
longeth to the said John Winthrop, Governor." 

The following entry of February 22, 1640/1, is in the Town 
Pecords: — " The graunt of the to^\^le of Boston, to M^. John 
Winthropp, Esquire, of the twoe hills, with some barren marsh 
adioyning there unto, be it more or lesse, King next to pulling 
poynt, is thus bounded : towards the north with the Land of 
W^. ^^'i^iam Piree, and with the salt water on all other partes." 

Governor Winthrop sold his estate at Pullen Point to his 
son, Deane Winthrop.^ ^^ 

The first entry in the Book of Possessions is this : — 

" The possession of Hf. Deane ^Yint^lropp within the Limits of 
Boston. 

" One Farme at Pullen poynt, conteineing about one hundred 
and twenty Acres, be it more or lesse, bounded with M''. Pierce's 

settled in Middlesex County. Tlie allotment of Tliomas Fayreweather may 
have become the farm of William Burnell ; see Appendix 10.] 

130 [For further information about William Pierce see G. E. Littlefield, 
Early Boston Booksellers, 32-04; Savage, Winthrop, i. 25, Appendix A, 51, 
ii. 33, etc.] 

"' "John Winthrop of Boston Esq: granted vnto Deane Winthrop his 
Sonne all that his fferme or lott at Pullen point granted him by the towne 
of Boston, conteineing two lumdred Acres more or lesse, now or late in 
the possession of the said Deane, wth the Messuage there vppon built, & 
all the priviledges & appurtenances & this was by an absolute deed of 
sale sealed & delivered in presence of Wm Aspinwall Not : publ. Dated 
the 13. (9) 1647." (Suff. Deeds, L. 1, f. 86.) [Samuel Sewall, who went 
to Pullen Point to attend the wedding of Atherton Ilaugh and Mercy 
Winthrop, wrote: "Mr. Dean Winthrop liv'd there in his fathers days, 
and was wont to set up a Bush when he saw a ship coming in ; He is now 
77 years old. In his Fathers time, his house stood more toward Dear 
Island." Diary, July 11, 1699.] 



Chap. VI] ALLOTMENTS OF LAND 121 

lott on the north, the Bay and Fisher's Cove on the west : Pullen 
point on the south : and the Sea on the east. 

" 6 (10) 1649. Bridget Pierce and William Pierce, of Boston, 
granted unto M"". Deane Winthrop, of Boston, all that theire 
Messuage and Farme at Pullen point (adjoining unto the Farme 
of the sd Deane Winthrop), containeing one hundred Acres, be 
the same more or lesse, with all the outhouseing, fences, wood, 
and all other appurtenances; and this was by an absolute deed 
of sale, dated 14 (11) 1647. 

Witnes Wm. Aspinwall, Bridget Pierce and a seale. 

John Evered, William Pierce and a seale." 

After more than two hundred years, the city of Boston has 
again become the owner of a portion, at least, of the old Win- 
throp estate.^ ^^ 

Deane Winthrop, the sixth son of Governor Winthrop, was 
born in England. Being at school when his father came over 
in 1630, he was left behind, but came wntli his brother John in 
1635, at the age of twelve years. He was of the Artillery 
Company. He married Sarah, daughter of Jose Glover, and 
had a large family. He was early engaged wath his uncle 
Emanuel Downing in a project of a new settlement at a place 
afterwards named Groton in compliment to his birthplace; 
but his residence w^as always at Pullen Point, where his house 
now stands, a view of which is given opposite. Its age, though 
doubtless very great, is not certainly knowm. Deane Winthrop 
lies buried in the old churchyard at Revere, where is his 
gravestone. The inscription on it will, with others, be given 
hereafter.^ ^^ 

With two exceptions, I have now given all the allotments, 
grants, or possessions of land within these old precincts of 
Boston, so far as I have been able to locate them. 

The first w^as that rectangular strip of land of over six hun- 
dred acres, which was called the " Chelsea Pan Handle," ^"*'* 
until February 22, 1841, Avhen it was in part set off to Saugus.-'^^ 
Its history, so far as I can follow it, is this: September 30, 

"' See infra. Appendix 14.] 

"" [This note has been placed as an appendix to this chapter, — No. 14.] 
"" It is probable that [a part of] allotment number eleven to John 
Coggeshall was in the Pan Handle. [See supra, note 97.] 
"' Special Laws, viii. 193. 



122 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

1639, " Mr. Thomas Foulc is allowed to be an Inhabitant." ^^^ 
January 27, 1639/40, " there is granted to M"". Thomas Foule 
a great Lott of 600 Acrs Att — "^''^^ June 24, 1650, "It 
is ordered that whereas there was 600 Akers of Land grainted 
to M"". Thomas Foule, which Land is accepted at Rumley 
March by Samuell Bennett of Line, be it more or lesse as is 
expressed in a deed to him made by Captaine Leveritt and M'". 
Hill: The To^^me is freed from the said Granit, or otherwise 
the said Land is to returne to the Towne againe." ^^^ 

The other parcel was the possession of Richard Bellingham, 
which comprised nearly all of the present city of Chelsea. It 
has a singular and interesting history of one hundred and 
fifteen years, 1672-1787, of legal controversy, which will 
aj^peai* in the following chapters. 

'*^ Boston Town Rec. 

"^ Ibid. 

*" Ibid. Valentine Hill and John Leverett sold to Samuel Bennett of 
Lynn GOO acres (bounds not certain) purchased of Thomas Fowle, bounded 
soutli with Keaj-ne'sfarm (a creek dividing the farm and it) ; west with 
Cliarlestown; east with Lynn; and "northward to the vttermost bounds 
of Boston." October 1, 1G49. Sutf. Deeds, L. 1, f. 110. Bennett sold the 
same with the house called " Rumly Hall " to George Wallis, for £355. 
Defines " Brides brook," December 3, 1656. Ibid., L. 2, f. 310. Vide 
mortgage and release, ibid., L. 3, ff. 13, 14. Bennett settles on his son 
Samuel, in consideration of his marriage, a house and 50 acres, [also 500 
acres,] October 16, 1666. Ibid., L. 7, f. 76. Vide Bennett to Bennett, 700 
acres at Ilumney Marsh, 1671. (Suff. Deeds, L. 8, f. 294.) But see Cog- 
geshall and Cogan allotments, p. 106, and the Keayne estate, chap. xix. 
[For the further history of this farm, see infra, Appendix 15.] 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 1 121 



APPENDIX 1 

[" The great Allottments at Eiimley Marsh and Piillen Point " 
were recorded on January 8, 1637/8; but Judge Chamberlain 
apparently was in error in assuming that they were made on that 
date, and that the allotments in January, June, October, and No- 
vember, 1637, preceded them. The general allotment of lands 
began, as stated in the text, at the creek between Chelsea and 
Eevere, and the allotments at Pullen Point were the last made; 
two, — those of Thomas Buttolph (Buttall) and Ealph Hudson, 
— not being voted by the selectmen until January 29, 1637/8, 
though placed on record under date of January 8. The method of 
allotment adopted by the town seems clear. The General Court 
which met September 25, 1634, granted to Boston enlargement 
at Mount Wollaston and Eumney Marsh. December 18, Boston 
chose a committee of leading men to divide the lands of the town 
among the inhabitants.^ A year later, December 14, 1635, a com- 
mittee of five ^ was chosen to lay out by metes and bounds the 
farms assigned by the allotters at Eumney Marsh. Previously, 
on the same day, it had been voted that the poorer inhabitants and 
such as had no cattle' were to have their allotments assigned to 
them from the nearer lands at Muddy Eiver, and a committee had 
been appointed to lay them out. Thus it was in general the 
wealthy, who had servants to till their lands, and who were on 
that account entitled to larger allotments, to whom were assigned 
the more distant lands across the bay at Eumney Marsh. 

On March 23, 1634/5, it was "agreed that noe Wood shalbe 
felled at any of the Islands, nor elsewhere, untill they bee lotted 
out, but att Muddy Eyver, Dorchester necke, or Noddles Island," 
and January 4, 1635/6, it was " agreed that hereafter from this 
day none shall fell any Wood or timber at Muddy Eyver, or any 
other place of private allottments, but upon their owne allott- 
ments," and that timber already felled " in any the appointed place 
for private allotments," should be carted away within six months 
or belong to the owners of the ground on which it lay. It was 

^ Supra, p. 80. ' Supra, p. 90. 



121 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Cii-U-. VI 

also agreed that ever}^ one should have " a sufficient way unto his 
allotment of ground, wherever it be." 

March 14, 1635/6, it was voted that the selectmen should " from 
this da}^ oversee, looke unto and sett order for all the Allottments 
within us, and for all Comers in unto us." Presumably they at 
once superseded the committee appointed in December, 1634, — 
later denominated the " Allotters." On June 20 an allotment at 
Mount Wollaston by the selectmen appears in the record of their 
proceedings; but no land was allotted by them at Eumney Marsh 
or PuUen Point until January, 1636/7, when allotments were 
made as given in the text. Then, it should be noted, William 
Brenton had twenty acres added to an allotment previously made, 
while to Mr. Gibbons' allotment was added the proviso " if it be 
there to be had"; at the confirmation in June, 1637, it is stated 
that it had been laid out. Thus the allotments at Eurmiey Marsh 
and Pullen Point were laid out by metes and bounds by the Com- 
mittee of December, 1635, — the Committee of December, 1634, 
having designated the number of acres to which each man was 
entitled. The laying out of the allotments was begun after May 
25, 1636, as the first was assigned to Sir Henry Vane, — chosen 
governor on that date, — and the second, to John Winthrop, 
Deputy Governor. By January, 1636/7, all the lands in what is 
now Pevere had been allotted, and some of the land in what is 
now Winthrop, as the selectmen's first grant was at Pullen Point 
Neck. Judging from the wording of the grant to Gibbons, the 
work of the second committee had not been completed, and all 
the land assigned had not been bounded. 

As Rumney Marsh and Pullen Point were divided among the 
dwellers in Boston for farmlands, good water communication with 
that town was essential. The plan of allotment involved a public 
landing on Mill River, whence farm produce could be sent by boat 
through the present Mill and Chelsea Rivers, and across the har- 
bor. From this landing a road was laid out northward between 
the farms toward the Pines River. • It was the eastern boundary 
of allotments aggregating 1101 acres lying between it and Maiden 
(then Charlestown) bounds; it was the western boundary of 
some 964 acres lying between it and the seashore. The Aspinwall 
allotment, now known as Beachmont, a triangular piece of land 
surrounded on two sides by salt water creeks, did not touch the 
highwav. The Coggeshall allotment stood at the head of the two 
tiers of farms, next the Pines River, and the road is not mentioned 
in bounding it. The road was soon deflected into School, Beach, 
and Mill streets, in order to avoid hill and marsh, and thus the 
landing place on Mill River used by the people of Rumney Marsh 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 1 125 

was not on the common land, but on a private allotment, which 
later became the Newgate farm. This change in the trend of the 
road was approved in 1666 by a committee of the town of Boston 
appointed to settle the highways at Eumney Marsh, and the 
unused part of the road, as originally laid out, was assigned to the 
farms through which the highway then in use passed.^ At some 
points the original line between the two tiers of allotments, that is, 
the line of this road as first laid out, can apparently be traced on 
the atlas of 1874 in the parting line of estates, but the obtrusion 
of the Tuttle farm westward and the growth of a village about the 
church at Eumney Marsh tended to obliterate it. At Pullen Point 
there was a common shore beginning east of the lot of William 
Brenton, — near the present Main Street Bridge to Breed's 
Island apparently; thence extending south and east to Fisher's 
Creek. From this common shore a highway ran between the lots 
which lay along the shore, and those which abutted on Fisher's 
Creek, where the town had reserved the right to erect a wier and 
where, therefore, free shipment of goods might be interfered with. 
According to recent surveys of the town of Eevere, some 3750 
acres are included within its limits, while in 1637/8, the allotment 
of less than 2500 acres was recorded; and yet the bounds then 
given are so dovetailed as to make it appear that the whole region 
as far north as the Pines Eiver passed into private hands. If this 
was true, — and no other allotments by the town appear on record, 
— there was an allowance of over one thousand acres for swamp 
and waste. Although it was customary to make some allowance, 
this seems excessive even for a place so permeated by streams and 
marshes as Eumney Marsh. Apparently dissatisfaction was ex- 
pressed later, as it was recorded in tlie town book under date of 
February 23, 1640/41 : " That whatsoever allowance for Eockes 
or swampes our brother M"". John Oliver hath formerly made, or 
hereafter shall make, in the allotments of the inhabitants of this 
towne, shall of right belong unto them, unlesse the towne shall see 
cause to alter any thing before they be recorded by their bounds 
and limits in the town's booke." John Oliver, a surveyor before he 
studied for the ministry, was of the committee to lay out the allot- 
ments at Eumney Marsh and Pullen Point by metes and bounds, 
and the entry immediately preceding that just quoted, had repeated 
the bounds of the town's grant to John Winthrop of what was later 
known as Point Shirley, describing it as " twoe hills, with some 
barren marsh adioyning there unto . . . King next to pulling 
poynt." In connection with a statement made by Judge Chamber- 

' Infra, Appendix 7. 



126 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VL 

lain * it is, possibly, worthy of note that John Winthrop was given 
the land just mentioned in November, 1637, the month in which 
the Antinomians were disarmed. 

In the same connection, it is of interest to observe that the allot- 
ment of land at Iiumney Marsh was nearl}- completed before the 
Antinomian controversy reached its climax. Among the committee 
of seven appointed by Boston in 1631 for the allotment of its 
lands, Coddington, Oliver, and Balstone were sympathisers with 
the Hutchinson party. Of the committee of 1635 to lay out 
the allotments at Eumney IMarsh by metes and bounds, three of 
the five, William Hutchinson, Samuel Wilbore and John Oliver, 
were disarmed by order of the General Court in November, 
1637, and the first named was the husband of Ann Hutchinson. 
Among the first landholders at Eumney Marsh were many of Mrs. 
Hutchinson's party; one third of the allottees were disarmed in 
November, 1637. It is noticeable that the leading men among 
the Antinomians received allotments where the allowance for 
waste and swamp must necessarily have been the greatest. Thus 
John Coggeshall was allotted land on the Pines River, from Mai- 
den bounds to the mouth of the river: William Brenton and Wil- 
liam Aspinwall, on the Mill Eiver. A possible explanation for 
the growth of the farms of Eobert Keayne and John Cogan is 
that they purchased the allotments of John Sanford, son-in-law 
of William and Ann Hutchinson, and of John Coggeshall, and 
divided them to suit their convenience. James Perm secured the 
Aspinwall allotment, and eventually John Newgate at least a 
portion of William Brenton's. Eobert Keayne gave over half his 
estate to charitable purposes by a will signed in 1653; John Cogan 
gave seventy acres of marsh to Harvard College in 1652 ; James 
Penn bound his farm for the payment of ten pounds a year in 
perpetuity for the support of poor scholars at the College; and 
John Newgate, in 1640 or 1650, entailed on his farm a payment 
of five pounds a year to the college. No other bequests of this 
character were made by owners of farm land at Eumney IMarsh. 
Many of Mrs. Hutchinson's followers left the colony; almost 
without exception they disposed of their holdings at Eumney 
Marsh. As early land transfers were seldom recorded, this in- 
creases the difficulty of tracing with accuracy in detail successive 
ownership in the farmlands there. A farm may have been in- 
creased by purchase ; it may simply have been surveyed anew and 
no allowance made for waste. 

The Keayne farms may be taken as an example. As recorded in 

* Note 94 to chap, vi. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 1 ^ 

January, 1637/8, the allotment to Eobert Kea3^ne contained 314 
acres. Between it and the Newgate allotment, were the Sanford, 
Marshall, Matson, Gillani and Gallopp allotments, aggregating 
275 acres; that is between the Newgate lot and the Pines 
Eiver 589 acres were allotted. Later there are found north of 
the Newgate farm, the Keayne small farm, the Cogan small 
farm, and the Keayne great farm, aggregating nearly one thou- 
sand acres, — an increase of about four hundred acres. In 1678 
the Keayne great farm is described in a deed as bounded 
south west on the " Lands formerly m''. Coggans com only called 
Sanfords Lot," and, in 1730, Hugh Floyd, then owner of the 
Cogan small farm, gave twenty acres thereof by deed of gift 
to his son Hugh describing it as " being a part of the Lot of 
Land known by the Name of Sanfords Lott." ^ Unless John New- 
gate sold land to Captain Keayne, the Sanford allotment of one 
hundred acres became, apparently, the Keayne and the Cogan 
small farms aggregating slightly over two hundred acres. New- 
gate possessed later at Rumney Marsh, a large farm of which 260 
acres lay in the western tier of allotments, while the Cheever 
and Way-Ireland farms to the south aggregated some two hun- 
dred ninety acres. Yet the Newgate land and the allotments to 
the south aggregated in the original grant only 512 acres, — an 
increase of nearly forty acres. Furthermore the Tuttle farm 
protruded, apparently, into the western tier of allotments, absorb- 
ing a part of the Newgate farm. In the original allotments the 
Coggeshall lot of two hundred acres lay north of the Keayne and 
Cogan lots and was bounded west by Charlestown (later, Maiden), 
east by the seashore and north by Lynn ; it Avas purchased by John 
Cogan, who sold land north of the southern branch of the Pines 
Eiver, and hence without the limits of the Keayne great farm, 
stating that it was a part of the Coggeshall grant.^ Cogan's great 
farm, within the eastern tier of allotments, shows almost as great 
an increase in area as the Keayne farm with less possibility of 
increase by purchase. Possibly Keayne and Cogan divided the 
Sanford and Coggeshall allotments, — Keayne giving Cogan a 
hvmdred acres of the Sanford lot to offset any claims the latter 
might have within the western tier of allotments south of the Pines 
Eiver, by virtue of his purchase from Coggeshall. As these early 
transfers were not recorded, it is impossible to reach a final con- 
clusion in the matter. 

The evolution of the Vane allotment into the Way-Ireland and 

» Suff. Deeds, L. 11, f. 203; L. 45, f. 21. 
" Ibid., L. 1, f. 294. 



128 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chat. VI 

Clicevcr farms is also perplexing. In the original grant it was 
two hundred acres. According to the Book of Possessions, Nicho- 
las Parker, then its owner, possessed " a Farme of two hundred 
and sixty Acres at Eumney Marsh bounded with Jolin Newgate 
on the north and on the east : M*". Bellingham and the Creeke on 
the south: and Charlestowne bounds on the west," and also 
" twenty Acres of land at Rumney Marsh bounded with Samuel 
Cole on the east and on the north: and John Newgate on the 
west and on the south." Parker bought the fifty acre allotment of 
James Penn early in 1640; and John Newgate purchased in De- 
cember, 1639, the Winthrop allotment of 150 acres, which lay 
between the Vane and Penn allotments, as that of Penn lay 
between the Winthrop and Newgate allotments. Presumably 
Newgate and Parker made, for convenience of tillage, an exchange 
of lands. Parker sold George Burden 160 acres, yet when Parker's 
heirs sold, in 1674, the remainder of the farm, it contained 130 
acres, — a total of 290 acres, while the Vane and Penn allotments 
aggregated only 250 acres. 

It is of interest to note that the allotments at Eumney Marsh 
were bounded by the beach, not by the sea. Thus, according to 
the terms of the original grant, the present Eevere Beach did not 
pass into private hands. This the town of Chelsea claimed by 
vote April 6, 1812, citing this original grant as barring private 
ownership, and the charter of the town in 1739 as evidence of 
the town's rights. The allotment to Governor ^Yinthrop of what 
was later known as Point Shirley had the sea, not the shore, for 
its boundary. Other allotments in Winthrop, except those border- 
ing on the creek which separates Winthrop from Eevere, were 
bounded by the shore, in several allotments denominated the 
'' common shore." The first road from Pullen Point through 
Eumney Marsh to Lynn and Maiden followed Eevere beach to the 
modern Beach Street before turning westward, and as late as 
1757 the beach to the north of this is described in a deed as the 
beach leading to the house of John Floyd. 

From an early period in its history as a 'town Chelsea claimed 
apparently exclusive rights in the beach, and attempted to regu- 
late the taking of sand, seaweed, and the like therefrom. But it 
found this a task beyond its power. Hence the selectmen of 
Chelsea in accord with a vote of the town, February 12, 1798, 
petitioned the General Court to prohibit " all persons from taking 
from said beach any Stones, gravel, sand, inanure, &c , . . reserv- 
ing only to tlie inliabitants of the said Town of Chelsea the right 
and liberty of taking Sand for the use of their own families and 
manure for their farms." The reason for this request, as stated 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 1 129 

in the petition, was that sand, gravel, stones, and the like had been 
carried away until the beach was " now so much weekned & im- 
peared in diverse parts of it as to be obviously & eminently exposed 
to a breakage of the Ocean through said beach " to the destruction 
of " several hundred acres of valuable salt marsh." The petition 
was read in the Senate February 16, 1798, and in the House Feb- 
ruary 17, and referred to a Joint committee. A hearing before 
the committee was appointed for the next session of the General 
Court, and the petition with the notice of the hearing was printed 
in the Massachusetts Mercury, November 27, 1798. Maiden en- 
tered a protest, dated January 21, 1799. Many inhabitants of 
Maiden, it recited, owned land in Chelsea, and paid for the support 
of the ministry there, etc. They insisted on the injustice of being 
" Prevented from taking even the Eakings of our own Marsh." 
They had never taken stones or gravel, but they wished sand, and 
the " Trash " cast up by the sea. luji\n also sent representatives 
to defend its protest before the committee. In rebuttal three resi- 
dents of Chelsea — Joshua Cheever, "James Stowers, and John 
Low — signed a statement, January 28, 1799, that as owners of 
land adjoining the beach with thirty years of observation it was 
their " canded Oppinion that there is not a sufficiency of manure 
Collects on Chelsea beach for the use of the inhabitants of s^ 
town." There appears also on file a paper to the effect that inhab- 
itants of Chelsea owned nearly as many acres in Maiden as inhab- 
itants of Maiden in Chelsea. The Committee reported to the House 
and Senate advising that the petitioners be given leave to bring 
in a bill for " prohibiting any person not an inhabitant of said 
town from taking from any of the beaches in said town any stone 
gravel or sand and for securing to said town a right to regulate 
the taking of stone gravel or sand thereon by their own inhabitants 
so as most effectually to prevent damage being done to the marshes 
thereby " ; but that there should be " left at large as heretofore " the 
right of " taking sand from any part of the beach from the point 
of pines to a cedar post drove into the beach about three hundred 
and fifty rods southwest from said point of pines." '^ The report 
was read in the Council and accepted, February 7, 1799; the House 
concurred, February 8. A bill was brought in and read for the 
first time in the Council, February 13, 1799.'^ It differed in essen- 
tial points from the report of the committee, yet there is no legis- 
lative action recorded authorizing the divergence. It prohibited 
any one, whether an inhabitant of Chelsea or not, from taking 
stones, gravel, or sand from the beaches, except near the Point 

' Mass. Archives, documents filed with chap. 73, Acts of 1798. 
VOL. I. — 9 



130 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

of Pines as provided for in the report. The penalty was to be 
two dollars for every ton of stones, gravel, or sand carried away, 
— one half to the prosecutor, one half to the town of Chelsea. The 
bill passed the Senate, February 15, and the House, February 19; 
the engrossed act was approved by the governor, February 28, 
1T99.* Evidently the Legislature was willing to protect the beach 
from injury, but did not care to give its countenance to Chelsea's 
claim of exclusive ownership in the seaweed, the vegetable prod- 
ucts cast thereon by the tides. 

March 4, 1799, Chelsea appointed a committee of five to prose- 
cute non-residents for removing manure from the beach. August 
21, 1799, a writ was sued out against William Farrington of 
Maiden, charging that " on divers days and times " from August 
16, 1799, to the day of the writ, he broke and entered " a certain 
Close belonging to the Pltfs. situate in said Chelsea, and known by 
the name of Chelsea Beach," and " did forceably take & carry 
away from the said beach, four Cart loads of Eockweed Eel grass, 
& sea weed fitted for manure and the property of the Pltfs" of 
the value of $20. A similar writ was sued out against Winslow 
Seargent, Jr., of Maiden on the following day. He had carried 
aM-ay " one ox cart load" on August 21. The suits of the Inhab- 
itants of Chelsea vs. William Farrington, and vs. Winslow Sear- 
gent, Jr., came up for trial at the October term of the Inferior 
Court of Common Pleas for Suffolk County. John Lowell, Jr., 
of Boston, was attorney for Chelsea ; Joseph Bartlett, for Farring- 
ton and for Seargent. Chelsea lost both suits and appealed. The 
case of the Inhabitants of Chelsea vs. Farrington was decided in 
the Superior Court at the February term in 1801. The trial was 
before a jury, and the judgment in the lower court was affirmed. 
The appellants prayed leave to discontinue the second suit. Exe- 
cution for costs was issued in both suits July 6, 1801. In the first, 
the attorney for the defense charged for twelve days attendance 
at the October term of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas in 
1799; seventeen (or twenty-seven ?) days attendance at the Feb- 
ruary term of the Superior Court in 1800 ; five days at the August 
term, and twenty-nine days at the February term. 1801. Of the 
witnesses, Amos Lewis, Ebenezer Payne, and Joseph Cheever 
were paid for one day's attendance; John Waite and Winslow 
Sargeant for two days; Richard Shute, Nailor Hatch, and 
David Sargeant for three days; Barnard Green, Esq., and Ezra 
Sargent, Esqr., for five days ; and Jonathan Oakcs for nine- 
teen days. Only two papers appear on file, — two copies of the 

• Acts and Resolves of Mass. (1798-99), 98.' 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 1 131 

charter of incorporation of the town of Chelsea; both of which 
appear on the bill of costs of the defense. Chelsea lost the suit; 
the arguments on neither side are known.^ 

Some thirty years after this, on December 16, 1834, John Sale, 
who owned the present Beachmont, where the highway to Pullen 
Point followed the shore, sued out a writ, which recited that 
Nathan Pratt, December 6, 1834, " drove a team of oxen there 
drawing a certain cart or waggon, and broke up the sand and 
loosened the same so that the same could by being so broken up 
be loosened, moved and carried about by the action of the sea; 
and did also then and there with and by the feet of said oxen, so 
driven by the said Nathan, and by the wheels of said cart or 
waggon so drawn by said oxen loosen from the sand the stones 
then and there being in the Plaintiff's Close and subject them to 
be moved by the action of the sea within said close ; and did also 
then and there load upon the said cart or waggon a large quantity 
of sea weed and other vegetable productions of the sea then lying 
and being within said close of the Plaintiff of the value of thirty 
dollars; and did carry the same away from the said close," etc. 
In this writ it is stated that the plaintiff's close was " bounded 
eastwardly by the sea." ^° Notwithstanding the fact that on April 
6, 1812, the town of Chelsea had voted that the beach from its 
west side to low water mark was the property of the town, citing 
the allotments by Boston in 1637/8 and the town's charter of 1739, 
the defendant did not dispute the easterly bound claimed by John 
Sale, but rested his case upon immemorial custom, and on the 
claim " that some foraier owner of the Plffs. close by deed, which 
has been lost, granted to the Inhabitants of the Town of Chelsea, 
in their corporate capacity the privilege that they and every inhab- 
itant of the Town should always have the privilege of going from 
the said Highway over and upon the beach lying within the Plffs. 
Close, to gather seaweed," etc., and offered witnesses " to prove 
the enjoyment of the privilege set forth in his 3*^ Plea, for such 
length of time as would afford presumptive evidence of such a 
grant." ^^ As all inhabitants of Chelsea were excluded from testi- 
fying on the ground that they were interested in the event of the 
suit this defense failed. John Sale won the suit. The only 
reminder of the earlier status, wjien the beach formed a boundary, 
and not a part, of the farm, was the offer of the defendant to prove 

" Suff. Superior Court Files, February term 1801, Nos. 117, 118; 
Record of Superior Court, 12G et seq. 

" Suff. Superior Court Files, March term 1837, No. 103, Sale vs. Pratt. 
" Ibid., Bill of Exceptions. 



132 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

bv witnesses " that several years since a survey of the Town of 
Chelsea was made by order of the select men . , . and that the 
Plff. at that time stated to one of the Select men, that the beach 
in front of his land did not belong to him, & should not be included 
in the survey as part of his farm." ^- This testimony was also ex- 
cluded because tlie witnesses, as inhabitants of Chelsea, were inter- 
ested parties. B. E. Curtis, attorney for the defendant, excepted 
against the ruling out of this and the foregoing testimony, but the 
Supreme Court sustained the ruling, on the ground that such 
testimony "had no tendency to prove the issue tendered by the 
defendant," for " however strongly the fact that certain indi- 
viduals, however numerous, had been in the habit of taking sea- 
weed from this beach for their own use, might tend to show a 
grant to themselves, or their ancestors, ... as a personal privi- 
lege, ... it would have no tendency to prove a grant to the town 
as a cor])oration." ^^ In the lower court " the defendant requested 
the Judge to instruct the jurv, that the plaintiff's close being 
bounded upon the open sea, he had not the right of property in 
the soil below high-water mark ; but the judge instructed the jury, 
that the plaintiff, being the owner of the upland, was also owner 
of the flats (not exceeding one hundred rods) to low-water mark." 
The defendant's counsel entered an exception to this charge of 
the judge, but it was sustained in the Supreme Court.^* The 
ruling requested by the defendant was based on the theory that 
the " Colony Ordinance of 1641," as it has sometimes been called, 
applied only to creeks, coves, and rivers, and not to the open sea. 
Section 16 of the Body of Liberties of 16-41 provided that every 
householder should have free fishing and fowling in any " Bayes, 
Coves and Elvers, so farre as the sea ebbes and flowes within the 
presincts of the towne where they dwell." ^^ The compilation of 
the laws in 1647 limits this right by providing " that no man shall 
come upon anothers propriety without their leave. . . . The which 
clearly to determine. It is Declared, That in all Creeks, Coves and 
other ])hices, about and upon Salt-water, where the Sea el)1)s and 
tlowes, the proprietor of the land adjoyning, shall have propriety 
to the low-water-inark, where the Sea doth not ebb above a hun- 

" The witnesses who sijjned for pay were Joseph Stowers, John Tewks- 
bury Isaac Pratt, Abner Gay, John W. Tewksbury, David Floyd, James 
P. Sale, Frederick Sale, John Pierce. Court Files as above. 

" 19 Pickering, 191. Chief Justice Shaw delivered the opinion of the 
Court in the case, which came before it on a bill of exceptions. 

" Ibid. 

" Colonial Laws of Mass., reprinted from the edition of 1G60, etc., and 
the Body of Liberties of 1G41 (Wm. H. Whitmore, ed., 1889), 37. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 1 133 

dred Eods. and not more wheresoever it ebbs further." ^'^ To de- 
cide under this so-called law that when the sea was a boundary the 
proprietor owned to low-^^'ater mark was one thing ; to decide that 
he so owned, when his boundary was expressly stated to be the 
beach, would have been quite another. This latter point was not 
brought to the attention of the court. 

In the direct tax of 1798 the eastern boundary of the farm was 
feaid to be " the Beach." When the farm was surveyed for the 
heirs of John Sale in 1838, it contained eight acres, three rods of 
beach.^^ The farms of John Tewkesbury, Jr. (the Tuttle farm), 
and of James Floj^d (the Cogan farm), and the salt marsh of 
James Stowers (Hasey farm) and others were bounded in the 
tax list of 1798 easterly by the beach. When John Tuttle con- 
veyed his farm to Dr. Devereux, in 1772, he bounded it easterly 
on the beach. In 1714 Hugh Floyd bounded land at the Point 
of Pines '' Southerly on y^ Bank of &^ pine Beach, and Easterly on 
the Bay so call'd." In 1750 John Floyd bounded land near there 
southerly on the sea. Ordinarily, however, farms in Eevere were 
bounded easterly by the beach according to the early land con- 
veyances.^^ James Floyd, son of John Floyd, o^vner of the largest 
farm abutting upon the beach, was the first named on the com- 
mittee that in March, 1766, paid into the town treasury about 
eleven shillings " w^^ they took for Sand " carried from the beach 
by non-residents of Chelsea. The orders under which they acted 
were based on the following report : " We the Subscribers being 
a Committee Chosen by the Town of Chelsea to make Enquire 
whether the Beech Commonly Called Chelsea Beech belongs to 
Said Town Eeport as followeth, — viz : That we have made 
Enquirey and by all we can find we look upon it that the above 
Said Beech is the Town's Property." ^^ John Tuttle and James 
Floyd served on similar committees, which were chosen by Chelsea 
annually from 1765 to 1779, and intermittently later. The ques- 
tion in 1765 M^as not whether all the people of Chelsea had equal 
rights in the beach with the proprietors of the adjoining lands, 
but whether dwellers in neighboring towns had rights therein.] 

^* Colonial Laws of Mass., 170. 

" Suff. Deeds, L 443, f. 96. 

" See infra. Appendixes 9, 11, and 12; also supra, p. 108. 

" Chelsea Town Records, March 18, 17G5. 



134 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 



APPEXDIX 2 

Tn- a letter to the Chelsea Gazette, May 29, 1897, Walter Ken- 
dall Watkins says, " Mr. Meacom [a correspondent] is in error 
probably in stating the Pratt house to be 337 [245?] years old. 
He probably has in mind the old Pratt house occupied by the 
Thomas Pratt who died in 1732, the first of the family living at 
Winnisimmet. That house is not now standing. A portion of it 
was used in the construction of the former residence of Mayor 
Pratt, and the door-stone is incorporated in the wall of the park 
in Prattville. The present Pratt house is of later construction, at 
just what date is unknown, but probably it was built about 1700." 

I have always understood that the Xathan Pratt house, which is 
still standing and of which a view is given, was the house standing 
on the estate which George Burden, in 1652, sold to Ireland and 
Way, and that their estate, by the deeds in 1696 and 1714, as 
mentioned in the text, became the property of Thomas Pratt. The 
house may have been another; but from the statements of Mr. 
John Low, the surveyor, and of other old citizens now dead, I came 
to believe, and have so recorded it, that the " Nathan Pratt House " 
was the " Way and Ireland " house. 

[Two houses were standing on the estate when Thomas Pratt, 
the first owner of the farm bearing that name, died in 1732, as 
he bequeathed to his wife the life use of his dwelling-house, and 
to his son, Thomas, a house west of the road, in which the son was 
then living. Presumably Thomas Pratt, Sr., and his wife were 
living, in 1732, in the house which is still standing on Washington 
Avenue opposite Kimball Eoad, and Thomas, Jr., in the house 
mentioned by Mr. Watkins, which stood west of Washington 
Avenue near Fremont Avenue. (Infra, Appendix 4.) For a de- 
scription of the Way-Ireland house, see Suffolk Deeds, L. 15, f. 80. 
See also the perambulation of the bounds of TJumney j\Iarsh in 
1678, 1699, 1711, and 1726. There is no evidence that Parker or 
Burden lived on the farm. As the descriptions in the deed from 
Burden to Way and Ireland are formal, it cannot be stated with 
certainty that a house was standing on the farm in 1652. Ireland 
was living at Pumney ]\Iarsh in 1657, as he was appointed keeper 
of the pound. Parker came to Xew England in 1633, lived first at 




PPii^^-zHi- 



';-ki'''^-ti:}2J^iMi€i..^ :. 




THE PRATT HOUSE. 



HELIOTYPE CO., BOSTON. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 2 135 

Roxbury, where he sold his house, July 18, 1639, and was later a 
merchant in Boston, owning a house on Milk Street. Burden, a 
shoemaker, came to America in 1635, aged twenty, was disarmed 
in the outcome of the Antinomian controversy, November, 1637; 
but in 1611 bought a house on the peninsula of Boston. Seven 
months after he sold the farm at Rumney Marsh he sold a dwelling 
house in Boston. His wife Ann, in Bristol, England, gave her 
consent to the sale. She had been admitted to the Boston church, 
November 6, 1636, and excommunicated September 28, 1651, five 
months before the sale of the farm, because she did not attend the 
communion, and refused to give a reason. (Church Records; 
Suff. Deeds, L. 1, ff. 18, 114, 264, 265)] When Ireland and Way 
divided their estate, March 25, 1691 (Suff. Deeds, L. 15, f. 80), it 
was bounded southerly by Richard Bellingham ; westerly by Whit- 
temore in part, and in part by Thomas Burden [in a later deed, 
Thomas Burditt] ; northwesterly and northerly by [Job] Lane, 
and in part by the highway ; northeasterly, in part by Mr. New- 
gate, and in part by land formerly of Parker, and then (1691) of 
Thomas Cheever. This estate, beginning at [the] northwest corner 
[of] the Carter Farm at the Everett line, ran northerly by that 
line across Mt. AVashington, — but going westerly at some point 
so as to include thirtj^-five acres in Everett, — to the Newgate 
farm in Revere; thence easterly across the top of Fenno Hill to 
the Cheever farm, on the easterly end of said Hill ; thence south- 
erly across the marsh to Chelsea Creek; thence westerly by the 
Creek to the beginning. These bounds include that part of Pratt- 
ville which lies in Chelsea, with a part of the Fenno farm in 
Revere. [A subsequent examination of the deeds recorded at the 
Sutfolk Registry of Deeds, and a careful comparison of the plans 
filed there, show that the Fenno farm was the Cheever farm, and 
included no part of that of Way and Ireland. Anna Cheever, 
daughter of Deacon Joshua Cheever, married January 8, 1789, 
Captain Thomas Pratt, who died at sea August 19, 1823. April 6, 
1829, Anna Pratt, widow, conveyed 120 acres to John Fenno et al., 
stating that the land was the Cheever farm less eight acres set 
aside for the widow Julia Ann Cheever, and two lots belonging 
to Joseph Harris and John Wright. (See Suffolk Deeds, L. 335, f. 
164; L. 613, ff. 221-224; L. 250, f. 115 ; L. 560," f. 304, etc., cited 
infra, Appendix 5.) March 20, 1762, Nathan Cheever sold Daniel 
Pratt two and one half acres at the western end of his farm, ad- 
joining the land of Daniel's father, Thomas Pratt (L. 107, f. 243). 
Apparently this was not restored to tlie Cheever farm, and did not 
become a part of the Fenno farm ; hence the latter contained 
fewer acres than the original Cheever farm.] Ireland and Way 



136 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

paid Burden £230 sterling for this estate, as follows : £20 in hand; 
£50 at times to be agreed; £75 on or before October 31, 1652; 
and £85 on or before October 31, 1653, — which last two payments 
were to bo in corn, cattle, wheat [and] pease, at prices to be de- 
termined. [The wording of the deed is " at p'"ice Current." The 
£50 above mentioned was to be paid to Henry Evans, the first 
constable chosen specifically for the district of Eumney Marsh 
(1651). Evans lived later in Maiden. See Corey, Maiden, 373, 
374.] 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 3 137 



APPENDIX 3 

Way and Ireland were of Dorchester in 1652. In 1681 Wil- 
liam Ireland, senior and junior, witnessed Elias Maverick's will. 
Aaron Way, junior, married Maverick's daughter. There were 
Waj^s at Danvers who probably came from Dorchester, and may 
have been relatives of the Eumney Marsh family. William and 
Aaron Way [and William Ireland] are on the Danvers rate list 
for 1681. (Eice, First Parish, 29.) William Way and Persis 
his wife joined in the formation of the church there, Noveiuber 19, 
1689 (Ibid, 37-39). [They lived on land which Bray Wilkins 
purchased of Eichard Bellingham, are said by Upham to have 
been kinsmen of Wilkins, and as such were brought into close 
touch with the delusions of the Salem witchcraft. C. W. Upham, 
Salem Witchcraft, i. 145, ii. 493, 177, etc.] The church records 
[under date of October 11, 1696] say, " The dismission of our 
Brethren and Sisters, W" Way and Persis his wife, and Aaron 
Way and Mary his wife, together with their children to y^ church 
of Christ lately gathered at Dorchester in New England, and now 
planted in South Carolina, whereof the Eeverend Mr. Joseph Lord 
is Pastor, was consented to by a full and unanimous vote at ye 
motion and desire of ye Brethren and Sisters : and accordingly 
letters Dismissive were written, 17th instant." ("Rice, 234.) 
[Mary, the wife of Aaron Way, junior, had owned the covenant 
at the Charlestown Churcli, which her father, Elias Maverick, at- 
tended, and five of her children were baptized there between 1675 
and 1685. (Wyman.) On November 1, 1696, Increase and Sam- 
uel Sumner, uncles of Aaron and William Way, were dismissed to 
South Carolina by the church in Dorchester. (N. E. Gen. and 
Hist. Eeg., viii, 128 e.) October 31, 1698, it was recorded at the 
North Church in Boston that] " Job Chamberlain with his wife 
Jonna Chamberlain as likewise her mother Joanna Way, and her 
Sister, Mary Way have removed unto Dorchester in South Carolina 
and have requested letters of dismission." (N. E. Gen. and 
Hist. Eeg., xxviii, 468.) The main expedition sailed in December, 
1695, and made a settlement on the Ashley Eiver, which they 
named Dorchester. But the location proving unhealthy, the larger 
part of the church removed to Georgia in 1752. They numbered 



138 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

there 816 people of Xew England origin, and had considerable 
influence on the later history of that colony. 

[April 27, 1657, Eichard Way was admitted as an inhabitant 
of Boston on condition that Aaron Way, his brother, became bound 
that neither he nor his family should be chargeable to the town. 
(Boston Town Records.) According to Savage, Ki chard Way was 
a son of Henry Way, who came to Dorchester in 1630 in the same 
ship with Eev. John Maverick. In the list of freemen the name 
of William Ireland appears in 1650, and Aaron Way in 1651. 
The family of Aaron Way seem to have retained church relations 
with Dorchester for some time after the purchase of the farm in 
February, 1651/2, as it is recorded that his daughter Susanna 
was baptized April 1, 1660, " being about 2 or 3 months old at this 
time, but not baptized tell now, being borne at y*' farme wher they 
now live." February 12, 1660/1, Aaron Way and his wife, and 
William Ireland were dismissed from Dorchester to the North 
Church in Boston, — the church of Increase Mather, — from which 
the widow Joanna Way and her two daughters were dismissed 
in 1698, as above stated. In 1656 William Ireland was constable 
for Eumney Marsh, and in 1662, Aaron Way. When it was de- 
cided to erect a pound in the district, William Ireland was chosen, 
March 30, 1657, " pounder." Ireland, or his son of the same name, 
served frequently as surveyor of highways; and in 1676 was one 
of the tythingmen of the district, — an office which Aaron Way 
held in i680. 

Joanna, wife of Aaron Way, was the daughter of William Sum- 
ner, twelve years representative from Dorchester to the General 
Court. By his will, dated March 1, 1688/9, and proven March 24, 
1691/2, she received one sixth of his lands. (Suff. Prob. Eec, L. 
8, 1 72.) Aaron Way died in 1695. His will, dated August 
25, was proven September 26. He appointed as overseers, his 
" Brothers," George and Increase Sumner, and " cousin William 
Ireland." The witnesses were John Smith, Paul Maverick, and 
Thomas Cheever. The children mentioned therein signed the 
deed to Thomas Pratt. They were, in addition to the executor 
and executrix mentioned in the text, Aaron, William, and Mary 
Way, Johanna Chamberlaine, and Susanna Miller. At the Dor- 
chester church a Mary Waye was baptized January 14, 1648/9 ; 
Aaron, October 6, 1650; William, January 30, 1652/3. On the 
Boston records, the birth of Joanna is recorded as March 5, 
1663/4, and Moses, June 13, 1672. Two other children were there 
recorded to Aaron and Joanna Way, — John, born May 8, 1666, 
and Elizabeth, June 23, 1667. A child of Moses Way and chil- 
dren of Joanna Chamberlain are referred to in the will of Aaron 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 3 139 

Way (Siiff. Prob. Eec, L. 13, f. 674). Moses was the son 
designated to live on the farm with the widow. He owned the 
covenant at the North Church in Boston, April 28, 1695, and his 
son Samuel was baptized there on July 19. The estate of Aaron 
Way, inventoried September 20, 1695, by Joseph Hasey and Wil- 
liam Ireland, was valued at £359 12s. 6d.] 



140 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 



APPENDIX 4 

[LiEUTEXAXT Thomas Pratt died June 25, 1732, aged sixty- 
three years.^ By will ^ he gave to his son, Thomas Pratt, the house 
in which the son was then living with the barn belonging to the 
same, and the northernmost and southernmost portions of the 
farm, the northern boundary of the southern parcel crossing the 
road to Lynn a little northeast of the house. He gave to his son 
Samuel the remainder of the farm, that is, the central portion on 
both sides of the road. The minute provision for the widow, Mary, 
shows what was considered a comfortable maintenance for a 
farmer's wife at that day. If the widow married, she was to 
leave the farm and receive an annuity of twelve pounds ; but dur- 
ins: her widowhood the house in which she and her husband had 
dwelt ■■* was to be hers, with the household stuff therein. Two cows, 
two geese, two turkeys, six hens, and a pig were to be kept for her 
on the farm both summer and winter, and there was to be delivered 
at the house each year one hundred pounds of beef, one hundred 
twenty pounds of pork, ten bushels of Indian corn, two of rye, two 
of malt, six. of apples, two barrels of cider, and firewood cut ready 
for burning. She was to receive an annuity of ten pounds in 
money, and was to be transported to meeting and home again as 
often as she desired. A similar provision was made for his 
widowed daughter, Elizabeth George, who might live with her 
mother on the farm during her widowhood. A daughter, Sarah 
Blanchard, and grandchildren, — Anna, Samuel, and Thomas 
Sargeant, — were mentioned in the will, also a sister, Abigail. 

The children of Thomas (1) and Mary Pratt, as recorded at 
Boston, were: Elizabeth, born January 24, 1692/3; Ann, February 

^ Vital Records of Maiden. The will of Thomas Pratt of Rumnoy l\Iarsh 
was dated June 9 and probated July 10, 1732. Tlie record of his death 
is from his gravestone in Maiden. Apparently he attended the Maiden 
church, as he contributed to the rebuiUling of tlie meeting-house there in 
1704. He signed the protest presented in February, 170!)/10, to the town- 
meeting in Boston against the building of one at Rumney Marsh. Corey, 
Maiden, 21.5; infra, chap. xxvi. 

' Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 31, f. 41. 

^ See supra, p. 134. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 4 141 

11, 1694/5; Sarah, August 10, 1697; Thomas, May 6, 1699; 
Samuel, January 37, 1703/-4 (according to the Chelsea records, 
born January 5, 1701). The intention of marriage of " Samll. 
Sargent of Maulding Eliza. Prat of Boston" was filed September 
21, 1711.* They were married December 2, 1711. He was the 
brother of William Sargeant, who married her half sister, Mary 
Lewis, December 30, 1702. He died December 7, 1721, and 
his father-in-law, Thomas Pratt, served as his executor. His 
widow married John Tufts in 1723, and Nicholas George in 1727.^ 
November 9, 1714, the marriage intention of " Jonathan Howard 
of Maulding & Anna Pratt of E. Marsh " was filed at Boston. 
She died March 19, 1715/6.« May 23, 1717, " Samll. Blanchard 
& Sarah Prat " were married by Eev. Thomas Cheever.'^ He was 
of Maiden. April 27, 1721, "Thomas Pratt & Mary Floyd" 
were married by Eev. Thomas Cheever.^ Presumably she was 
the daughter of Daniel and Mary Floyd of Maiden (born March 
25, 1699), and hence granddaughter of Captain John Floyd of 
the Cogan farm. She died October 14, 1775, in the seventy-seventh 
3'ear of her age. Lieutenant Thomas Pratt died March 24, 1780, 
in the eightieth year of his age.'' October 19, 1725, the marriage 
intention of " Samuel Pratt of Boston & Eebecca Brooks of 
Medford" was filed in Boston.^'' He died May 14, 1754, aged 
fifty ^^ ; his widow Eebecca in May, 1775, aged seventy.^^ 

The inventory of the estate of Samuel (2) Pratt, the younger son 
of Thomas Pratt who died in 1732, taken by Edmund Dix, Sam- 
uel Sprague, and Ezra Green June 28, 1754, shows evidence of 
prosperity. In it are mentioned a watch, a wig, silver shoe and 
knee buckles, a clock, a desk, oval tables, chairs with carved backs, 
a carriage (" Chair"), three negroes and two pews in the Chelsea 
meeting-house. He possessed one hundred and six, or, as it appears 
at the division, one hundred and four acres of land in Chelsea and 
Maiden. There was standing on this farm the " old Mansion 
House " valued at £66 : 13 : 4 in hard money, the house in which 
his eldest son Samuel lived, valued at £100, a barn, a tan house 
and yard, and a shoe maker's shop. The land lay on both sides 

* Boston Rec. Com. Rep., xxviii. 94. 

" Wyman, 84G. 

' Boston Rec. Com. Rep., xxviii. 94; Maiden Vital Records. 

' Boston Rec. Com. Rep., xxviii. 09. 

« Ibid., 102. 

" Gravestones at Revere. 

" Boston Rec. Com. Rep., xxviii. 1G2. 

" Gravestone in Revere. 

" Chelsea Church Records. 



142 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

of the road to Lynn. The " mansion house " and the barn were 
divided between the widow, Eebecca, and the second son, Ebenezer ; 
Samuel, the eldest son, received the other house and the tan yard ; 
Ebenezer the shoe shop. The youngest son, Caleb, was given six 
acres in Maiden. The residue of the land was divided between 
the widow, Samuel and Ebenezer.^^ At the division of the widow's 
thirds, in 1779, two daughters are mentioned, Eebecca (according 
to the Boston records, born March 2, 1732) and Abigail (ac- 
cording to the Chelsea records, born in 1747). Caleb Pratt 
received his mothers share of the dwelling-house.^* 

Samuel (3), son of Samuel and Rebekah Pratt, was born Septem- 
ber 22, 1726.^® He married p]lizabeth Wayte of Maiden, January 
1, 1752.i« Their children were Samuel, born 1753, the 25th day of 
the 11th month [sic^ ; died 1753-10-3; Samuel, born 1754—13-2; 
Elizabeth, 1756-22-3; Abigail, 1759-18-5; Rebecca, 1762-10-1; 
Thomas Wait, 1761-19-5; Isaac, 1766-22-8; Ebenezer, 1769; 
Rachel, 1771.^^ According to the gravestones at Revere, Lieuten- 
ant Samuel Pratt died ]\Iarch 1, 1773, aged forty-six, and his 
wife Elizabeth, Nov. 13, 1784, aged fifty-six. The widow Elizabeth 
Pratt was administratrix of her husband's estate until her death.^^ 
She sold two acres, the " Bog meadow," to the widow Mary Pratt, 
and 61/2 acres in the upper field to Daniel Pratt." April 12, 
1785, Samuel (4) Pratt, of Chelsea, Tanner, was appointed ad- 
ministrator of the estate of his father, Samuel (3) ; and Joshua 
Cheever of Chelsea was appointed guardian of Ebenezer (4), 
Isaac (4), and Rachel (4). March 11, 1788, an inventory of the 
estate was presented. There was then a dwelling-house, a barn, a 
" Leather house " near the dwelling-house, a " Tan house, beam 
house, tan yard, tan vatts, pitts & Mill "; two acres sixty-one poles 
adjoining the dwelling and barn ; seven and one half acres in the 
tan yard pasture, so called, adjoining the tan house ; five acres 
sixty-nine poles of salt marsh and black grass land adjoining the 
aforesaid tan yard to the east; fourteen and one half acres behind 
the hill, adjoining to land of Mr. Daniel Pratt; eleven acres of 
what had been originally the Tuttle farm ; and four acres of wood- 
land in JMalden. In the family settlement, this land became the 
property of the eldest son, Samuel, the administrator above men- 

" SuflF. Prob. Rec, L. 49, ff. 438, 523; L. 60, S. 646, 693. 

" Ibid., L. 78, f. 111. 

" Boston Records. 

" Vital Records of Maiden. 

" Chelsea Rec; Suff. Prob. Rec., L. 82. IT. 115-123. 

" Suff. Probate Rec, L. 73, f. 488; L. 82, 11". 115-123. 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 140, ff. 98, 99. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 4 143 

tioned.-'' In the direct tax of 1798, the house is described as very 
old, two stories high, with IT windows; it covered 1080 feet. The 
shop covered 144 feet, was one story, had one window; the barn 
was 36 X 30; the tan house, 20 X 161; the "Beam House," 
13 X 18. The house lot with the land adjoining was 14 acres; 
the land on the west side of the road 16 acres. 

June 24, 1781, Samuel Pratt, (4) third of the name, married 
Mary Field, a widow. Their children, as recorded at Chelsea, were : 
Samuel, born 1782, the 16th day of the 5th month; Polly, born 
1784-2-4-4 (married May 19, 1803, Benjamin Watts) ; Betsey, 
born 1786-2-4 (married September 28, 1806, Joseph Eidler of 
Boston); Henry, born 1788-24-5; Edward, 1791-23-1 ; Barna- 
bas Turner, 1793-17-9; Isaac, 1796-25-3; Samuel, 1799-7-9. 

The division of the estate of Samuel (4) Pratt among his heirs, 
in 1852, is in the Suffolk Probate Eecords.-^ The plan which 
accompanied this division, according to a survc}^ by Jacob Puring- 
ton, is in the Suffolk Probate Files. The house is marked on the 
plan; also infra, on the map of Chelsea, showing the location of 
the Bellingham estates. It was on Washington Avenue, a little 
southeast of Cook Avenue. 

" Ebenezer (3) son of Samuel (2) and Eebekah Pratt," was 
born March 13, 1729 ; ^^^ and died in April, 1767, aged 37.=^^ 
Among the papers on file in the basement of the Boston City Hall 
is a petition for relief, dated June 22, 1767, from Mary, widow of 
Ebenezer Pratt; also a Committee's report thereon, of March 10, 
1768; also a lease. It there appears that Ebenezer Pratt moved 
to Deer Island in 1758 as an undertenant of Thomas Goldthwait, 
Esq.; that on April 16, 1766, he, with his brother, "Samuel 
Pratt of Chelsea Gentleman," took a lease of the island from 
Boston for seven years at £40 a year; but that he died in the 
spring of 1767, leaving a widow and "five small children." Ac- 
cording to her account they had not prospered on the island. The 
return of the familv to Chelsea is thus chronicled : " The widow 
Mary Pratt & 5 Children Viz* Tho^ Eben^ John Sam^ & Mary 
Came into this Town Sometime in the month of ISTovem'^'^ 1767 
they Came Last from Deer Island w^^ belongs to boston." ^* July 
7, 1768, the "widow Mary Pratt" was approved as a "Retailer." 
Four children to Mary and Ebenezer (3) Pratt appear on the 
town records of Chelsea: Thomas (4) bom, 1753 3d day 10th 

*» Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 87, f. 143; Files, No. 23470. 

=^ L. 151, f. 70. 

^ Boston Records. 

" Chelsea Church Records. 

^ Records of Chelsea Selectmen, i. 191. 



144 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

month; died in October, 1769, aged 17 [sic]'^^; Ebenezer, born 
1755-21-[ ]; died 1768-10-[5] ; John, born 1756-15-9; 
Saml. Hutton, born 1759-13-[1] ; baptized Januan^ 14, 1759; 
also on the Boston records Mary, bom September 12, 1761 ; bap- 
tized at Chelsea, September "20, 1761. Presumably she married, 
May 31, 1781, John Butman (later called Captain John Butman) 
and, as the widow Mary Butman, was living in 1798 on the farm 
in Chelsea, in a one-story house that covered 400 square feet and 
had seven windows. She owned twenty perches of land, which 
bounded east on the town road (now Washington Avenue), and 
south, west, and north on Samuel Hutton Pratt, her brother. 
Land and house were valued at $165.-" 

]\Iarch 20, 1770, the widow Mary Pratt sold some fifteen acres 
of the farm in Chelsea to Daniel and Caleb Pratt, seven and one 
fourth acres to each, — the land lying between Thomas Pratt on 
the north and Samuel Pratt on the south, and _ between the 
*• Country road " on the east and the widow Eebeckah Pratt on 
the west.^^ Samuel Hutton Pratt, as administrator of his father's 
estate, presented, Januarv 8, 1792, an inventory of the real estate 
as apprized by Daniel Pratt and John Sale, April 23, 1788.28 j^ 
included the west half of a dwelling-house, the north half of the 
barn, and a fourth of an acre about them; about fifteen acres, in 
several parcels, east of the road ; four and one half acres west of the 
road ; also " one Small Tenement House," obviously the house 
occupied by Mary Butman when the direct tax of 1798 was 
assessed. Samuel Hutton Pratt owned, according to that tax list, 
all his father's estate except this small house, and some addi- 
tional land west of the road. The lands were under improve- 
ment by Caleb Pratt, Jr. April 17, 1827, Hannah Hunt, widow 
(formerly widow of Samuel H. Pratt), Mary Butman, widow, and 
John Pratt, mariner, all of Charleston, South Carolina, conveyed 
five acres west of the road with buildings thereon, fifteen acres 
east of the road, also one fourth of an acre east of the road 
" with half an Old dwelling house thereon " to Christopher Arnold 
Brown of Boston. ^^ The half of the old house was purchased by 
Thomas B. (4) Pratt, son of Caleb (3) Pratt, in 1835;^" the 
other lands were bought by Patrick Carberry.^^ 

** Chelsea Church Records. 

=» Direct T.ax of 1798. 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 116, f. 267. 

=» Suff'. Prob. Rec. L. 92, f. 13. 

" SufT. Deeds, L. 318, f. 21. 

'» Ibid., L. 405, f. 235; see also L. 380, f. 98. 

" Ibid., L. 373, f. 213; L. 381, f. 18. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 4 145 

Caleb (3) Pratt, son of Samuel (3) and Eebeckah Pratt, was 
born, according to the Chelsea town records, in 1738, the IGtli day 
of the Tth [ ?] month ; died April 14, 1804, aged sixty-six. In 
1779, when his mother's third of his father's estate was divided, 
he received half of his father's house and barn; five and 
one fourth acres, on which the buildings stood ; three acres on 
Pigeon Hill; and three acres thirteen poles of salt niarsh.'^- He 
was taxed for these lands in 1798. They appear, with certain lands 
in Maiden and Lynn, in the inventory of his estate. By will, 
dated July 22, 1801, and probated, April 30, 1804, he gave his 
wife the use thereof for life. After her death they were to be 
divided among his children.^^ May 26, 1762, Caleb (3) Pratt 
married Mary Sprague.^* She died 1829-lst day-llth month. ^^ 
Their children, as recorded on the town records, were : Caleb 
born [March 1] 1763; AVilliam, 1764, 12th day 1st month; 
Nathan, 1768; Samuel, 1772; Thomas Brooks, 1774; Mary, 1777 
(died 1793 20th day [ll]th month; Lois born 1779 lOth day 
8th month (married February 6, 1803, Joseph Stowers ) ; ^® also 
Becca, who died in April, 1788, aged six.^*' Thomas B. (4) Pratt 
purchased the rights of Samuel (4) Pratt, Joseph and Rebecca 
Stowers, and the children of William (4) Pratt, and thus became 
the owner in 1830 of four fifths of his fathers estate.^^ He and 
his brother, Caleb (4) Pratt, divided the property. — the latter 
receiving as his one fifth the east half of the dwelling-house, — and 
a small lot of land adjoining. Thomas Brooks Pratt, as has 
been shown, had purchased the half formerly owned by Samuel 
Hutton Pratt. Caleb (4) Pratt, Jr., married Mary Ingraham 
Dec. 25, 1794, and was living in this house as tenant of 
Samuel Hutton Pratt, when the direct tax of 1798 was assessed. 
Five children are accredited to him on the Chelsea records : Polly, 
born 1797-3d day-7th month; Elizabeth, 1799-3-7; both bap- 
tized Aug. 11, 1799; Nehemiah, born 1802-2-7, baptized Aug. 
22, 1802; Josiah, born 1804-29-5, baptized Aug. 19, 1804; 
Caleb Ingraham, born 1808-5-4, baptized June 5, 1808. 

In 1850, the heirs of Caleb (4) Pratt, second of the name, quit- 
claimed to Josiah (5) Pratt, the east half of the house and three 
fourths of an acre adjoining thereto, stating that it was one fifth 
of the estate of his grandfather, Caleb ( 3 ) Pratt, as agreed upon by 

^2 Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 78, f. 111. 
^^ Ibid., L. 102, ff. 200, 222. 
^ Cliurch Records. 
'° Town Records. 
^^ Cliurch Records. 
^' Suff. Deeds, L. 366, ff. 296-298. 
VOL. I. — 10 



146 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

his father, Caleb Pratt, and Thomas B. Pratt.^^ Thus when Jacob 
Purington surveyed the estate of Samuel (4) Pratt, third of the 
name, the mansion house of Samuel (2) Pratt, first of the name, 
was owned by Thomas B. (4) Pratt and Josiah (5) Pratt, and 
by means of this plan can be unqaestionably identified as the 
ancient "Pratt House" still standing (1906) nearly opposite 
Kimball Eoad on Washington Avenue. 

The will of Lieutenant Thomas (2) Pratt, son of the Thomas 
Pratt who died in 1732, was dated March 14, and proven April 
?, 1780. Three sons were mentioned, — Daniel, "the eldest"; 
John, " the second," and Joseph, " the youngest." Daniel was the 
residuary legatee. Of the real estate Joseph received the house 
in which he was then living, with the land adjoining, a sheep 
pasture, etc. ; and John Pratt a wood-lot in Maiden and half a 
pew in the Chelsea meeting-house. A granddaughter, Mary Oliver, 
Avas mentioned.^'' The children of Thomas (2) and Mary Pratt as 
recorded at Chelsea were: Thomas, born in 1722, the 9th day of 
the 3d month; Daniel, 1724-17-2 ; Benjamin, 1725-20-5; John, 
1727-26-3; Edward, 1728-22-10; all' the foregoing were bap- 
tizd by Eev. Thomas Cheever, June 9, 1734; Mary, born 1736- 
30-3, baptized April 11, 1736 (married July 25, i771, William 
Oliver, brother of Joseph Oliver who married Abigail Brintnall) ; 
Joseph, born 1737-26-8, baptized Aug. 28, 1737. Lieutenant 
Thomas (2) Pratt was one of the leading citizens of Chelsea. 
With the exception of the years 1744, 1749, and 1750, he served 
as selectman from the incorporation of the town in 1739 until 
1754, when on May 20 Samuel Floyd was elected in the place of 
Lieutenant Thomas Pratt, removed out of town. In 1762 the 
name of Lieutenant Thomas Pratt again appears among the select- 
men; he lies buried in the graveyard at Eevere. He represented 
the town in the General Court 1745-1748, 1766, 1771, 1772. He 
was also chosen " Committee-man " to the Convention which met 
at Faneuil Hall, September 22, 1768, was a member of commit- 
tees in 1768 and 1770 to ask of the General Court relief from 
over-taxation, and of the Committee of Correspondence in 1775. 

April 28, 1785, Joseph and Elizabeth Pratt conveyed to Daniel 
Pratt 15 acres west of the road to Lynn with a dwelling-house 
and barn thereon ; 131/2 acres E. and N.E. of that road, with the 
road to Chelsea meeting-house to the S.E. and S., Joshua Cheever 
E. and Yeamans' heirs N. ; also five acres of salt marsh in what was 
formerly the great Cogan farm. He reserved to his son Joseph 

=« Suff. Deeds, L. Gil, f. 254. 

«» Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 79, ff. 154, 155. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 4 147 

Pratt, Jr., "his Blacksmith's shop that is now standing'" on the 
said second parcel of land. Daniel Pratt must give twenty days 
notice when he wished it removed.*" The witnesses were Ben- 
jamin and Edward Pratt. According to the Chelsea records, 
Joseph and Elizaheth Pratt had biit one child, Joseph, born in 
1757 — the 20th day — 9th month. Presumably this was the 
Joseph Pratt who married Betheny Payne, Feb. 27, 1783, and had 
five children recorded at Chelsea between 1781 and 1791. There 
are recorded at Chelsea six children of John Pratt by wife Susanna 
between 1754 and 1764 and a daughter Mary of Benjamin Pratt 
by wife Mary in 1752. Presumably they were sons of Thomas (2) 
Pratt who died in 1780. 

According to the direct tax of 1798, Daniel (3) Pratt, son of 
Lieutenant Thomas (2) Pratt, owned the northernmost and the 
southernmost portions of the old Way-Ireland Farm. Thirty- 
eight acres we-re bounded south by Samuel Pratt, Avest by Maiden 
line, north by Nailer Hatch and land occupied by William Eustace 
(the Newgate-Shrimpton farm), east by Joshua Cheever, "the 
Road Punning through s*^ Farm." The house covered 612 feet, 
was of two stories, had thirteen windows, and was described as 
" Pretty Old," an unusual circumstance, as most of the houses in 
Chelsea were described as " verry old." The barn was 45 by 18. 
This land and house with a lot of salt marsh on Ware Creek, in 
what is now I'evere, was occupied by his son, Daniel (4) Pratt, 
Jr. By his will, dated April 7, 1790, and probated February 21, 
1803, Daniel Pratt gave this land to his son Daniel, stating that 
it was the estate which he bought of his brother Joseph. Daniel 
Pratt, Jr., married Abigail Wilcott, Nov. 21, 1782, and had ten 
children born in Chelsea between 1784 and 1801. 

According to the direct tax of 1798 forty acres of the estate of 
Daniel Pratt, Sr. lay in the southern portion of the Way-Ireland 
farm; and were bounded on the south by Samuel Danforth and 
Moses Collins (the Center Farm of the Bellingham estate), on 
the west by Maiden, on the north by Samuel Pratt ; " the town 
Eoad Running through s*^ Farm." He also owned twenty-six 
acres of upland and dyke marsh bounded south and west by the 
creek and Samuel H. Pratt ; north by the town road and William 
Cheever ; also five acres of salt marsh near Cherry Island in what 
is now Revere. This land was in the improvement of two sons of 
Daniel Pratt, Edward, and Caleb. The house on the farm covered 
1178 feet, was of two stories, had 17 windows, and was described as 
" Verry old." The shed covered 408 ft., the barn was 50 X 30 ft. 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 149', f. G6. 



148 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

and the cyder mill 34 X 20 ft. Daniel Pratt himself lived in this 
house. By his will, probated February 21, 1803, he gave his wife 
the use of the west end of his dwelling-house with proper mainte- 
nance, and mentioned his daughters Mary Hall and Sally Pratt, 
granddaughter Sally Stuart, grandson Aaron Hall. All his real 
estate which was not bequeathed to his son Daniel, as mentioned 
above, was left to his sons Edward (4) and Caleb (4). This land, 
as appears in the inventory, was ninety-two acres of the old Way- 
Ireland farm, with the marsh near Cherry Island and some wood- 
lots in Maiden." 

The children of Daniel (3) and Mary Pratt as recorded at Chel- 
sea were: Anne born 1753-26th day-lst month; married Samuel 
Stuart, March 12, 1771; Mary, born 1755-20-9, married Aaron 
Hall, Mav 41, 1780; Sarah, born 1758-25-[ ], died Aug. 20, 
1799, aged 41 ; '^- Daniel, born 1760-28-8 ; Edward, 1762-12-7, 
Caleb, 1764-16-7. Daniel (3) Pratt died January 26, 1803, aged 
seventy-nine, and the widow Mary Pratt, March 9, 1818, aged 
eighty-seven.*^ She was the daughter of Captain Caleb Brooks.** 

In^l806, Edward (4) and Caleb (4) Pratt divided the estate 
which they inherited from their father, Daniel (3). The division 
line of the homestead lands Avas a straight line passing from a 
little below " Sargeant's Spring " to the upper end of the old 
barn. Caleb's land lay north, and Edward's south of this line. 
Edward received the half of the house to the east of the middle of 
the chimneys. From the chimneys the line passed through the 
middle of the shed door to the hill formerly of Samuel Pratt. The 
land of Caleb Pratt was described in 1806 as bounding east on 
Samuel H. Pratt; north on Samuel Pratt; west on the heirs of 
Captain David Sargeant; Caleb also received thirteen acres 
"lying in the meadow" bounding soutli, west, and south on Samuel 
H. Pratt to the town road, on the road to the bridge, " takeing 
in the Iron Spring Pasture," then on the willow fence, etc., to 
the creek;, also the Peach Orchard, bounding south on Powder 
Horn Hill owned ])y William Hall ; west on the town road and 
east on the " old orchard." ^^ The site of the house is given on a 
plan *'^ of this estate in 1839, by John Sargent. Undoubtedly this 
was formerly the home of Lieutenant Thomas (2) Pratt (1699- 
1780). The deed from Caleb (4) to Edward (4) Pratt was lost, 

" SiifT. Prob. Rec. L. 101, ff. 100, 247. 

*^ Gravestone at Revere. 

*^ Church Records; according to the town records she died March 8. 

" Walter K. Watkins in Chelsea Gazette, July 24, 1897. 

« SuflF. Deeds, L. 259. f. 269. 

*" Ibid., L. 451, f. 143. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 4 149 

and a new conYe3'ancG was execnted b}- Caleb to Edward's children 
after his death. According to this Edward possessed twent3f-two 
acres south of Caleb, including the old barn and the east half of 
the house. This land was bounded east on the town road (Wash- 
ington Avenue), south on Thomas Furber (the Center Farm of 
the Bellingham estate), and west on William Whittemore and 
Ebenezer Nickols. He also possessed the " old orchard " of four 
acres east of Caleb's peach orchard, with Thomas Furber south, 
and the town road north; also about three fourths of an acre on 
the upper side of the road, lying between the road and the widow 
Mary Butman's hill; also fourteen acres in the dyked marsh, 
bounded soutli and west by Mill Creek to a cross ditch, thence by 
the " willow fence " to the " sheep pasture bridge on the town 
road " (evidently the same bridge mentioned in bounding Caleb's 
meadow) ; north by the town road, and east by Thomas Pratt. *'^ 
As these lands adjoined those of Caleb Pratt, they can be located 
by comparing the plan of Caleb Pratt's estate in 1839 with the 
maps in Hopkins' Atlas. The house stood west of Washington 
Avenue, near Fremont Avenue.*^ The Way-Ireland farm, which 
had within its limits in Chelsea one house in 1691 and, if the tax 
list of 1798 may be trusted, but five houses in 1798, has become the 
modern Prattville.] 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 259, f. 70; see also Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 115, f. 334, etc. 
** Infra, plan of Chelsea showing the location of the Bellingham farms. 



150 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 



APPEN^DIX 5 

Jonathan Parkee et ah. to u rp^ ^^^ p^^^^^ ^^ ^.j^^^^^ ^^^.^ 
Thomas Savage.^ present writeing shall come Jona- 

than Parker of the sitty of London in the kingdome of England 
Gent: Arther Mason of Boston in New England Biscake baker & 
Joannah his wife: William Dauice of the Island of Barbados 
merchant & Mary his wife send greeting Whereas Nicholas Parker 
Gent by his last Will and Testament did giue & bequeath his farme 
or messuage lyeing & being in Eumly marsh in New England 
being then in the tenure & occupacon of Samuell Dauice : ^ unto 
his sone Cap*. Nicholas Parker : & Whereas the sd Cap*. Nicholas 

-<-• T 1.T ^ TT. iTT-n • Parker in & bv his last Will & 

Aide Nicho Parkers Will mm, <■ i ' • -n> j. ai 

^, _,.,,- ,, „ ort r> 1 iestamen*. bearing Date the 

the 24tth page ot y'- 2^ Booke xu j j- a 4. 

. ,„.,, ^ ° -' seauenth day ot August one 

of \\ ills. ,, 1 ■ -u 1 -I ■ i. s 

thousand six hundred sixty & 

Eight did giue the aboue sd ffarme or messuage with an house 

orchard & all other appurtenances thereunto belonging unto his 

Brother the sd Jonathan Parker if the sd Jonathan should dye 

' Suff. Deeds, L. 9, f. 25. 

" [Samuel Davis was received May 31, 104(5, by the Boston eliureh from 
that at Watertown. April 17, 1047, Ann, wife of "our brother Samuel 
Davis" was admitted. Tlie following births were recorded at Boston: 
"Susanna of Samuel & Anna Davis born 4th May, 1040" ("]\Iary of 
Samuel Davis aged about 20 days " was baptized at the First Church, 
May .'H, 1040; presumably there was a mistake in the name.) " Susanna 
of Samuel Davis aged about 3 days," baptized May 28, 1048; " Priscilla 
of Samuel & Anna Davis born 3d Aug." 1050; baptized at the First 
Church, September 15; "Mary of Samuel & Anna Davis of Rumney 
Marsh born May 21, 1000." The will of Samuel Davis, dated in 1072, 
was probated July 4 of that year. The witnesses were Flias Maverick, 
Aaron Way, and William Ireland; the overseers, John Dowlittle, Aaron 
Way, and William Ireland; the executrix, the widow Ann Davis. The 
inventory of his estate (total £128) signed by Elias Maverick and Wil- 
liam Ireland, was " presented in Court the 1st of Augt 1072 by the widow 
Davis but she not being willing to take her Oath to it the Court allowed 
of it to bee Recorded." The will mentions five children. — Hannah Griggs, 
Abigail Townscnd. Gershom Davis, Mary Townsend, and Priscilla Davis; 
also a grandchild, Hannah Griggs. ( SufT. Prob. Rec. L. 7, ff. 219, 230.) 
See in Appendix 15 a later reference to Gershom Davis.] 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 5 ' 151 

then he gave the s(3 ffarme with the appurtenances unto his two 
sisters Joannah the wife of the sd Arther Mason & Mary the wife 
of the sd William Dauice Now Know Yee that the sd Jonathan 
Parker Arther Mason Joannah his wife William Dauice & Mary 
his wife for & in Consideracon of the sume of two hundred & 
ninety pounds of lawfull mony of New England to them in hand 
at & before the Ensealeing & deliuery of these presents by thomas 
Sauage sen"" of Boston afforesd merch*. well & truly paid the 
receipt whereof they doe hereby acknowledge & themselues there- 
with fully satisfied & contented & thereof & of euery part thereof 
doe acquitt & discharge the sd Thomas Sauage his heires Executors 
& administrators foreuer by these presents Haue giuen granted 
bargained sould aliened Enfeofed & confirmed & by these presents 
doe fully & absolutely giue grant Bargaine sell aliene Enfeofe & 
conferme unto the sd Thomas Sauage his heires executors admin- 
istrat. & assignes foreuer all that farme messuage or tenem*. that 
was giuen & bequeathed to thomas aforesd containeing by Estima- 
tion one hundred & thirty acres be the same more or less Togather 
with " &c. (with the usual Habendum clause) . 

" In Witnesse whereof the sd Jonathan Parker Arther Mason 
and Joannah his wife William Dauice and Mary his wife haue 
hereunto set their hands and scales the thirtyeth day of September 
in the yeare of our Lord one thousand six hundred seauenty and 
foure: Annoq Eegni Eegis Car. secundi nunc Anglia &c XXvj 
Signed sealed & Deliuered Jonathan Parker & a scale 

in the presence of us apend*. 

Edward Lillie Arther Mason & a scale 

John Ha}^ard scr. apend*. 

Joannah M Mason & a 
her marke 
scale append*. 

" This Instrum*. within written was acknowledged by Jonathan 
Parker Arther Mason & Joannah his Avife as there atit & deede 
Octtot*. 2th . 1674 . before mee Edward Tyng Assist : 

" Eecorded and compared p ffree Grace Bendall Eec." 
[Affidavits in the margin.] 

" Subscribed also. William Davis & Scale append*. Mary Davis 
& a scale append*. 

" This third day of July 1678 appeared before me Edward 
Howard, and gave Oath that hee was present and did see William 
Davis Signe Scale & deliver this lustrum*, as theire act and deed 
to the within mentioned Jonathan Parker. 

" Sworn before me Edward Tyng Assist. 

"Wee underwritten did this 25*^ March 1678 See m" W°^ Davis 



152 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

& Mary his wife Signe Scale & deliver the within mentioned In- 
strument as theire act.& deed. Witness. Jolm Mellowes, Edward 
Howard Henr}- Lower: 

" This first day of July 1678 appeared before me John Mellows 
and gave oath that hee Avas present & did see William Davis & 
Mary Davis Signe Seale & deliver this Instnmi* as theire act and 
deed to the within mentioned Jonathan Parker. 

" Sworn Before me Edward Tyng Assist. : " 

[Will of Captain Nicholas Parl-er^ 

" Item I give unto my deare beloved Brother m"* Jonathan 
Parker two parcels of Lands and a house and Orchard and all 
other appurtenances thereunto belonging which lyeth in New Eng- 
land, But the Pent I give to my two Sisters to bee equally divided 
betwene them untill my Brother Jonathan Parker appeares to de- 
mand the Land and if my Brother Jonathan should dye then the 
afores^ Land and house shal bee equally divided betwene my 
two Sisters." He mentioned, " the hopes that I have for three 
}'eares Salary for being Consul in Algiers." At the probate in 
England, May 13, 1669, Captain Nicholas Parker was said to 
have died in parts beyond the sea. According to the copy 
recorded in Boston, Julv 30, 1678, the will was dated August 27, 
1668.] 

Thomas Savage, goldsmith, son & heir of Habijah Savage late 
of Boston, to Thomas Savage, Ephr™ Savage, and Perez Savage, 
Sons and Ex'"^. of the last will of his grandfather IMajr. Thomas 
Savage, a release for a legacy of £150 April 13, 1687.* 

[The foregoing was due to some misunderstanding; the fol- 
lowing was doubtless the abstract intended : ° 
Thomas Savage, Ephraim Savage and Perez Savage, Sons and 
Executors of the will of Major Thomas Savage Esq'*, deceased, to 
Ebenezer Savage of Boston for £300 in full satisfaction of a 
legacy from his father the said Thomas Savage, deceased, 130 
acres more or less at Eumney Marsh in the present tenure and 
occupation of Thomas Townsend,*^ and a part of the estate left by 

» Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 6, ff. 243, 244. See also in Suff. County Court 
Rec, term beginning April 26, 1074, suits instituted by Jonathan Parker 
for debts due his father and brother. 

* Suff. Deeds, L. 14, f. 144. 
" SufT. Deeds, L. 13, f. 62a. 

* Thomas Townsend was assessed for this farm in 1676. (" Tliomas 
Townsen for Arthur Masons farme," Boston Rec. Com. Rep., i. 65.) His 
wife Mary was the daughter of Samuel Davis. Samuel Townsend, who 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 5 153 

Thomas Savage deceased, conveyed to him by Jonathan Parker, 
Arthur Mason and Joanna his wife, William Davis and Mary his 
wife. Dec. 19, 1683.] 

Ebenezer Savage of Boston upholder and Martha his wife to 
Samuel Sewall, merchant, for £390, all their ffarme or messuage 
lyeing Scituate and being at Eumney Marsh, by estimation 130 
acres more or less in the occupation of Thomas Townsend, and part 
of the estate of Thomas Savage Esqr. of Boston and by his Exec- 
utors confirmed unto the sd Ebenezer Savage for payment of 
£300 as satisfaction of a Legacy bequeathed unto said Ebenezer 
by said Thomas Savage Esqr., Feb. 4, 1683/4. L. 13, f. 83. 
Samuel Sewall & Hannah his wife to 

James Bill Junr. Jonathan Bill & Joseph Bill of Pulling Point, 
for £300. in current money of N. E., by estimation 130 acres more 
or less, in the present tenure & occupation of Thomas Townsend 
& part of the estate left by Thomas Savage Esq, & by his Exe- 
cutors confirmed unto Ebenezer Savage, & by him unto us Feby 4, 
1683/4. April 37, 1685. Suff. Deeds, L. 13, f. 307. 

James Bill & Mehitabell his wife, for £357, 130 acres more 

Jonathan Bill & Frances his wife, or less, " in the present 
Joseph Bill and Deliverance his wife, tenure and Occupation 
of Pullen Point to of said Thomas Chee- 

Thomas Cheever. ver.^' Bounded East & 

North by Mr. Newgate; 
on the West, by Way and Ireland ; on the South by the creek ; con- 
veyed to us by Samuel Sewall. " Unto the said Thomas Cheever 

married her sister Abigail Davis, was tenant of Richard Bellingham on 
the farm across the Mill River. [Infra, chap, vii.) Both Thomas and 
Samuel Townsend were sons of Thomas Townsend of Ljnn, and nephews 
of John Newgate, who owned the land north and east of the Parker farm. 
October 30, 1681, Thomas Townsend became a member of the Second or 
North Church in Boston, — the church which his neighbour, Aaron Way, 
attended. The children of Thomas and Mary Townsend recorded at 
Boston were: Joseph, born December 23, 1665; Thomas, December 10, 
1667; Susanna, November 5, 1672; Joshua and Caleb, November 21, 
1674; Nathan, July 5, 1677; Priscilla, September 20, 1679; Elisha, 
September 9, 1680; Benjamin, January 10, 1682/3; Hezekiah, April 13, 
1685. The births of the three youngest children, — Timothy (May 25, 
1688), Josiah, and Thomas were recorded at Lynn. Presumably Tliomas 
Cheever settled on the farm Avhen he left Maiden in 1686. He was living 
upon it when it was conveyed to him in October, 1689. Townsend may 
have lived later near the Boston and Lynn boundary, as a farm purchased 
by Jeremiah Belcher in 1702 was described as " late in the occupation of 
Thomas Townsend." His will was probated in July, 1700. Infra, 
Appendix 15. See also C. H. Townshend, The Townshend Family, 



154 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VT 

his heires and assignes for ever to such uses and with such limita- 
tions as are hereafter expressed; Viz*, to the only proper use 
benefit and behoofe of the said Thomas Cheever and Sarah ^ his 
now wife during the term of his natural life, and after his decease 
to the sole use and benifit of said Sarah his now wife so long as 
she remains a widow; (or untill such child or children as the 
same shall belong unto do come of age; Provided she give suffi- 
cient security not to cut of and sell wood or timber of the said 
farme, othenvise her right in and use of the same, excepting onely 
her thirds shall wholly and immediately cease, and be ended upon 
her marriage) then to be & remain to the sole proper use benefit 
and belioofe of the Children which s*^. Thomas Cheever now hath 
or hereafter may have, born of the body of Sarah his now wife, 
their heires and assignes for ever; Liberty and full power being 
notwithstanding reserved unto said Thomas Cheever by deed of gift 
or by Will to dispose and confirme the above bargained premises 
or any and every part thereof to such one or more of s^. Children 
as to him shall seem most meet and convenient; and in case of 
the death of all said Children to dispose the same to siich other 
heires as he shall see good; (or otherwise to alienate and dispose 
the same bargained premises or any or every parcel thereof pro- 
vided his now wife Sarah freely consent thereto and signify the 
same in writing by her hand and Seale & not else;) " October 
22, 1689.8 

Thomas Cheever [1658-1749] married (date not found) first 
Sarah, daughter of James Bill, senior of Pullen Point, and had 
children: (1), Thomas, who was of Eumney Marsh as late as 
17Q8, when he removed to Lynn, where he died November 8, 1753. 
[His first wife, married February 11, 1701/2, was Mary Board- 
man, daughter of William Boardman of Chelsea " Pan Handle." 
Cheever also purchased lands in that region."] (2) Sarah, mar- 
ried Thomas Kendall [of Woburn] November 7, 1701. (3) 
Joshua, born January 6, 1687/8. His home was in Boston, where 
he became a prominent citizen. [He married (1) November 2, 
1708 Sarah Warren (presumably a granddaughter of Samuel Cole 
and John Senter of Winnisimmet),^*^ who died January 26, 1723 
aged thirty seven; and (2) November 5, 1724, the widow Sarah 

^ Tliomas Cheever married Sarah, daii<;hter of James Bill, Sr., of 
Pullen Point. [James Bill gave his dan<;hter a legacy of flOO, payable 
within three years of his decease. He died February 1, 1G87/8. Infra, 
Appendix 10.1 

» Suff. Deeds, L. 15, f. 2. 

* Infra, Appendix 15. 

^° Infra, chap. vii. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 5 155 

Jenkins, who died in 1755. He owned land in Chelsea pur- 
chased from Deacon Jacob Hasey.^^] (4) Abigail, born May 20, 
1690. (5) Abigail, born March 20, 1691; married John Burt, 
June 3, 1714. (6) Ezekiel, born March 7, 1693, removed to 
Charlestown, where he died March [6],^- 1770. He was promi- 
nent in town and provincial affairs. (7) Nathan, born March 16, 
1694. In 1726 he was chosen constable for Eumney Marsh, and 
after the incorporation of Chelsea he was one of its selectmen. 
He was of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company in 
1733 [as were also his brothers, Thomas and Ezekiel. Joshua 
joined the company in 1732]. He married first (published jSTo- 
\ ember 8, 1721) Hannah Brooks [daughter of Ebenezer and 
Abigail Brooks of Medford]. She died July 1, 1724 [aged twenty- 
three]. (2). In Boston [Rumney Marsh] February 15, 1738/9 
Anna Fuller, widow of iSTathaniel Fuller and daughter of Samuel 
Burrill of Lynn. She died November 10, 1740 ^^ He died Sep- 
tember 30, 1774, [aged eighty-one years seven months.] He left 
two sons, Nathan and Joshua, both of whom lived in Chelsea, and 
became the heads of families of local eminence and usefulness.^* 

Sarah Bill, Thomas Cheever's first wife, and mother of all his 
children, died January 30, 1704/5 [aged forty-seven]. He then 
married in Boston, July 30, 1707, Mrs. Elizabeth Warren [pre- 
sumably daughter of John Senter of Winnisimmet ^°], who died 
May 10, 1727 aged sixty-four. His last wife was Abigail Jarvis 
(published August 31, 1727), who survived him, and died a widow 
in Boston, June 20, 1753, aged eighty-four. 

[The children of Nathan Cheever ^'^ were : 

Nathan, born in Eumney Marsh, January 15, 1722; baptized 
January 20, 1722/3. 

Joshua, born in Chelsea October 10, 1740; baptized, October 
12, 1740. 

" Infra, Appendix 12. 

^^ Mass. Gazette and Boston Post-Boy, March 19, 1770. 

" [This is the date as deciphered on her gravestone. The age there 
given was thirty-six years seven montlis. According to the town records, 
she died October 10, 1740, — a date in agreement with her age and date 
of birtli, Mai-ch 7, 1704. The Vital Records of Lynn (printed) give the 
latter date, presumably a mistake, March 7, 1704/5.] 

" John T. Hassam, " Ezekiel Cheever and Some of his Descendants " 
(1884). For epitaphs of the Cheever family in tlie old Rumney Marsh 
graveyard, see tTie appendix. 

" Infra, chap. A'ii. 

^^ In accordance with the suggestion of Judge Chamberlain " the line 
of Thomas Cheever so far as they settled in Chelsea " has been completed 
from the genealogy compiled by Mr. Hassam. 



156 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

Nathan (4) Checver (Xathan (3), Thomas (2), Ezekicl (1)), 
born in Kumney Marsh, January 15, 1722; baptized January 20, 
1722-3; graduated at Harvard College in 1741. In 1743 he 
taught scliool in Manchester, Mass. He is styled blacksmith in 
some documents. He married in Chelsea, March 4, 1744, Eliza- 
beth Tuttle. Buried " Jan. 13, 1787 Nathan Cheever A.M. Ae* 
64." His widow died in Chelsea, February 15, 1814, aged 86 
years. Their children were : 

1. Nathan, b. Chelsea, March 11, 1745. 

2. Josepli, b. Chelsea, Aug. 17, 1748; d. in Chelsea, June 22, 1752. 

(June 22, 1751, aged 4 years g. s. ) 

3. Jacob, b. Chelsea, Nov. 27, 1750. 

4. Joseph, b. Chelsea, Dec. 3, 1752. 

5. Thomas, b. Chelsea, April 17, 1754; d. in Maiden, Dee. 1813. 
G. Elizabeth, b. Chelsea, Dec. 16, 1760. 

7. Hannah, b. Chelsea, Dec. 10, 1763; ni. April IS, 1793, William 

Emmons of Maiden. 

8. Samuel, b. killed by lightning; buried Aug. 5, 1799, Aet. 34. 

Joshua (4) Cheever (Nathan (3), Thomas (2), Ezekiel (1)), 
gentleman, born in Chelsea, October 10, 1740; married in Chelsea, 
May 8, 1765, Abigail Eustis, who died in Chelsea, February , 
1809, aged sixty-three years. He died in Chelsea, January 15, 
1813. . . . Their children were : 

1. Joshua, b. in Chelsea, March 1, 1766; bapt. in Chelsea, IMarch 2, 

1766; m. in Boston, March 24, 1789, Elizabeth Huxford, and 
d. in Chelsea, March 8, 1816; had seven children, all born in 
Chelsea between 1790 and 1810. 

2. Anna, b. Chelsea, Aug. 24, 1768; bapt. in Chelsea, Aug. 28, 1768; 

m. (1) in Chelsea, Jan. 8, 1789, Thomas Pratt; m. (2) [Joseph] 
Stowers. 

3. William, b. Chelsea, Feb. 20, 1770; bapt. in Chelsea, Feb. 25, 1770; 

ni. in Brookline, Jan. 25, 1801, Juliana Corey; had seven children, 
born in Chelsea; d. March 2, 1813. 

4. Abigail, b. Chelsea, Oct. 18, 1771; bapt. in Chelsea, Nov. 27. 1771; 

m. (1) in Chelsea, Sept. 13, 1796, Reuben Hatch; m. (2) William 
Bucknam. 

5. Sarah, b. Chelsea, Feb. 17, 1774; bapt. in Chelsea, Feb. 20, 1774; 

d. Nov. 20, 1786. (g. s.) 

6. Polly, b. Chelsea, Feb. 4, 1776; bapt. in Chelsea, Feb. 11, 1776. 

7. Elizabeth, b. Chelsea, Oct. 31, 1778; bapt. in Chelsea, Nov. 1, 1778 

m. in Chelsea, Jan. 16, 1805, John Cook, of Cambridge. 

8. Lois, b. Chelsea, June 11, 1781; bapt. in Chelsea, June 17, 1781 

m. in Chelsea, Sept. 19, 1805, Josiah Mixer, of Cambridge. 

9. Margaret, b. Chelsea, July 11, ; bapt. in Chelsea, July 13, 1783 

m. in Chelsea, May 20, 1807, Abraham Grant, of Cambridge. 
10. Nathan, b. Nov. 3, 1785; bapt. in Chelsea, Nov. 6, 1785; m. in 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 5 157 

Chelsea, Nov. 3, 1814, Eleanor Platts, and d. in Chelsea, Sept. 
5, 1837. 
11. Sarah, b. Dec, bapt. in Chelsea, Jan. 3, 1790; d. Dec. 27, 1790, aged 
II days (g. s.) [sic] ; buried Jan 10, 1790, aged 10 days. (Church 
Records. ) 

Joseph (5) Cheever (Nathan (4), Nathan (3), Thomas (3), 
Ezekiel (1)), yeoman, born in Chelsea, December 3, 1752; mar- 
ried in Boston, April 23, 1771, Sarah Low, who was born August 
25, 1751, and died in Maiden March 20, 1811, aged eighty-seven. 
He was a lieutenant in Sprague's company of Colonel Samuel 
Gerrish's regiment in the Revolutionary War, and was a revolu- 
tionary pensioner. He removed from Chelsea to Maiden, where 
he died October 23, 1830, aged seventy-eight. Their children, all 
born in Chelsea, were : 

1. Sarah, b. June 16, 1775; m. in Chelsea, Feb. 19, 1795, William 

Oliver, Jr., and d. in Maiden, Oct. [30]," 1805. 

2. Betsey, b. Nov. 20, 1776; d. in Chelsea, Sept. 12, 1791. 

3. Nancy, b. Jan. 29, 1779; m. May 31, 1798, Aaron Waite; d. Dee. 

27, 1852. 

4. Sukey, b. May 29, 1781; m. Sept. 7, 1797, Andrew Waite; d. in 

Charlestown, Dec. 2, 1857. 

5. Hannah, b. Nov. 5, 1782; m. June 14, 1801, Thomas Waite; d. Nov. 

22, 1858. 

6. Lucy, b. Nov. 30, 1784; m. March 15, 1803, Samuel Shute, of 

Maiden; d. Sept. 24, 1872. 

7. Polly, b. May 17, 1786; m. Nov. 3, 1805, William Raymond, of 

Charlestown; d. in Maiden, Aug. 11, 1853. 

8. Patty, b. June 1, 1788; m. William Skinner, of Lynn. 

9. Harriet, b. Oct. 13, 1789; d. June 6, 1808. 

10. Joseph, b. Jan. 21, 1792; m. in Chelsea, Oct. 8, 1815, Phoebe 

Crowell; d. in Bedford, Mass., Sept. 17, 1879. Left issue. 

11. Jacob, b. Nov. 8, 1794; m. Dec. 13, 1818, Lydia Sweetser, of Saugus; 

d. in Maiden Jan. 14, 1876. Left issue. 

Thomas Cheever of Eumney Marsh, Clerk, " chiefly in respect 
to of the love and 

Nathan Cheever. Affection which J 

bear unto my Son Nathan Cheever, having not yet given him 
anything Considerable for his Subsistence, though he hath lived 
with me, and carried on my Husbandry since he has been of full 
age. And also for and in Consideration of the Sum of Five Hun- 
dred and fifty Pounds in Currant Passable money of New England, 
to be paid unto others of my Children, according as J shall "Will 
and Appoint by a Writing under my Hand and Seal by my said 

" Vital Records of Maiden. 



158 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VT 

Son Nathan Cheever," his farm at Rumney IMarsh bounded East 
and North " on the farm formerly Newgates, on the West by the 
farm formerly Ways and Irelands, on the South by a Salt water 
Creek " with the buildings thereon "(excepting the Dwelling house 
in which J live, which J do give unto my loving Wife so long as 
She lives in Rumney Marsh, together with the Goose house and 
the Garden Spot)" to hold, possess and enjoy " after my Decease" 
and " full power is by me reserved and retained . . . during the 
term of my Natural life, to keep Possess and Enjoy the said bar- 
gained Premisses in my own hand and power, and my said Son 
Nathan Cheever shall manage and Jmprove the same under me, 
And have, receive and enjoy the full ]\Ioiety or half part of all 
the Produce of the Farm . . . the other half to be to my own Use 
Benefit and Dispose." December 29, 1T38. Witnessed by Jacob 
Hasey and Thomas Pratt; acknowledged before Samuel Watts 
January 2, 1738/9. Recorded January 17, 1738/9, in Suff. Deeds, 
L. 57, f. 134. In Suff. Deeds, L. 108, f. 171, is a conveyance of 
similar tenor dated November 21, 1721, witnessed by Joshua 
Cheever and Sarah Cheever, acknowledged before Sam'. Checkley 
November 27, 1721, and recorded July 28, 1766.^« 

Will of Thomas Cheever, 

dated October 13, 1748, probated January 23, 1749/50. Minute 
provision is made for his wife Abigail. He gives her the use of 
his dwelling-house, his household stuff and plate, the goose house, 
and the garden spot, " so long as she Lives in Chelsea." " Also 
my Will is that my said Wife shall have five Cows kept for her 
Winter & Summer, so as to Improve the Dary which she now 
hath," and " shall have the Wool of my thirty five Sheep made 
good to her Yearly and every Year; also that she shall have ten 
of the Lambs yearly, also she shall have two Pigs kept for her 
Winter & Summer yearly; also she shall have twenty Bushels of 
Indian Corn," 4 of rye, 4 of malt yearly, and " Liberty of keeping 
such Fowles as shall be for her Use & Comfort, & Liberty of such 
fruit in the Orchard as she shall need for her own Use; also she 
shall have Cuil'e at her Command, and when she can spare him he 
shall work with my Son Nathan, Also I give unto my s*^ : Wife 
my Mare and Chaise, and my Son Nathan shall find her a Gentle 
Horse to put in the Chaise, when she shall have Occasion to ride 
in it after the Mare is dead." He mentions sons, Thomas, Joshua 

" In November, 1721, Nathan Cheever married Ilannali Brooks; Febru- 
ary 15, 1738/1), he married, as a second wife, Anna Fuller. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 5 159 

and Ezekiel; daughters Sarah Kendal and x4.bigail Burt; 
grandsons John Burt and Edward Cheever, As gifts of remem- 
brance he bequeaths a silver porringer, a new silver porringer, 
a silver pepper box and teaspoons, a silver tankard, a silver cane, 
and " my Seal mark'd with my Name." The witnesses were Jacob 
Hasey, Thomas Wait, Jr., and Abigail Hasey. (Suff. Prob. Eec, 
L. 43, f. 315.) 

Nathan Cheever of Chelsea, to for £17 6s. Sd. land bounded 
Daniel Pratt " " W. on land of Thomas Pratt, 

N. E. on the Town Eoad; 
S. E. on said Cheever's land from a stake by said road " to another 
stake about one Eod to the West side of a spring hole so called 
and keeping the same Course till it comes to said Pratts land above- 
mentioned," about two and one-half acres. March 20, 1763. 
(Suff. Deeds, L. 107, ff. 243, 244.) 

Nathan Cheever sen'" of Chelsea to ^j. £213 Qg. 8d. mortgages 
Sarah Watts wife of Samuel Watts. 45 ^cres of marsh & up- 
land — E. on Mr. Yeamans' land occupied by Eobert Temple Esq"", 
up to the town road ; then jST. by s'd road to a stake & stones to the 
N. of the " old house spring so called " ; ^^ S. over the middle of 
s'd spring down to the creek ; — S. on s'd creek to Yeamans farm, — 
excepting the bam & barn yard & 1 acre on the W. side of the 
bam. He malces his mark. December 6, 1768. Eeleased February 
25, 1774, by Mr. Edward Oxnard, one of the executors of will of 
Mrs. Sarah Watts. (Suff. Deeds, L. 113, f. 220. See also L. 125, 
f. 250.) 

Nathan Cheever of Chelsea, Gentleman, to Joshua m gpciire 
Cheever and Samuel Pratt of Chelsea, Gentlemen, g^ Cheever 
and Pratt for serving as bondsmen in the sum of £124 7s. to 
the Treasurer of Harvard College to secure a debt of said Nathan 
Cheever to the College of £62 3s. 6d., mortgages three parcels 
of land in Chelsea. (1). 10 acres of salt marsh bounded north- 
erly on Chelsea beach, E., S.E., and S. on land of William Pitts, 
and yet S., S.W., and W. on land of the heirs of William Hasey 

^^ Possibly the house of Rev. Thomas Cheever, near Fenno Corner, 
mentioned in the will of Nathan Cheever as the '* old house," was not the 
first on the farm. The site of the spring is further defined by the suc- 
ceeding conveyance. Note also in Suflf. Deeds, L. 613, f. 223, and the 
accompanying plan, the western boundary of the " Spring Lot " of Deacon 
Cheever's farm. 



IGO HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

deceased and on land of the heirs of Jacob Hasey deceased.'^" 
(2). 3 acres, bounded S. on land of William Low; E. on land of 
Edward Watts; N., W., and N.W. on the " Eoad and on Land 
of Jonathan Green and on Chelsea old meeting house plot and 
said towns pound plot." ^^ (3). 6 acres " bounded northerly on the 
Koad Westerly on Land of Thomas pratt Southerly on a Creek 
from Said Thomas Pratts Land untill it comes due South of the 
Great Spring in the said Nathan Cheevers Land thence Extending 
Due north to the westerly side of Said Spring thence northerly 
as the fence now Stands up to the Road and bounded Easterly on 
other Land of the said Nathan Chever at the Last mentioned 
Line." ]\Lirch 24, 1770. Mark of Nathan Cheever. Witnesses, 
John Tudor, Sam" Sprague. Eecorded April 6, 1770, in Suff. 
Deeds, L. 116, f. 236; original in Chamberlain MSS. iv. 69. 

Nathan Cheever to f^^. ^oq 135. five acres in the " further 
Joshua Cheever. ^g| j ,, bounding north on land " under the 

improvement of Eobert Temple Esq"^ and William Low" and 
on all other sides by land of said Nathan Cheever, with right 
of way. March 13, 1771. (Suff. Deeds, L. 119, f. 45.) This land 
lay west of Broadway and north of Fenno Street. 

Same to Same, for £15" 6s. 8d. two acres, the easterly end of 
said further field. October 2, 1773. (Suff. Deeds, L. 124, f. 209.) 

Nathan Cheever to ^ ^^^^ of 1^-g homestead lands, includ- 

Joshua Cheever, his son. j^g 39 ^^^^^ ^f ^^^^^^ & ^^^^^ that 

bounded E. on land of Mr. Yeamans occupied by Eob* Temple 
Esq'' & W™ Low; N. on the Town road to a stake and heap of 
stones N. of the old house spring so called ; W. on a line running 
S. over middle of s'd spring down to the Creek ; «& S. on the creek 
until it canie to s'd Yeamans land excepting barn & barn yard & 2 
acres of land W. of barn yard with a strait W. line running N. 
& S. ; & excepting 5 acres of saltmarsh at the S.W. corner of s'd 
piece of land. October 4, 1773. Suff. Deeds, L. 124, f. 209. 
Mortgaged by Joshua Cheever February 24, 1774, to Samuel Sar- 
geant. Eeleased May 31, 1794. {Ibid., L. 125, f. 250.) 

Will of Nathan Cheever, Gentleman, dated October 2, 
1769; probated October 21, 1774. He makes his mark. He em- 
powers his executors to sell lands to pay debts and appoints his 
son, Joshua Cheever, and Capt. Jon^ Green executors; if either 

*> This was formorly a part of the Haeey farm. Infra, Appendix 12. 
** See Appendix 11. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 5 161 

die he substitutes his kinsman Deacon Abijah Cheever of Lynn 
or his kinsman Captain Abner Cheever of Lynn. 

( 1 ) He gives to his " well beloved, & eldest Son Nathan Cheever, 
during his natural life . . . my old dwelling House, that my 
hon*^ Father, the Eev<^. M** Thomas Cheever formerly dwelt 
in, and about three Acres of Land adjoining to it," ^- bound- 
ing IST. & E. on land improved by Eob*. Temple Esq"*. & W™ 
Low ; S. on the road, from the S. E. " Corner of my Land, that is 
North of the Eoad, until it comes due South of the Well, that is 
between my two dwelling Houses, from thence extending due North 
over the middle of said Well " and 10 rods beyond the middle 
of the well, thence due west to the next fence, thence N. on sd 
fence to the land improved by Temple & Low; also the S. half 
of the barn and half of the barn yard and " the one half of my 
Lands that is not needed to be sold, to pay my just Debts " etc., 
" and that I do not herein particularly give to my Son Joshua 
Cheever, by Butts & Bounds." After the death of Nathan the 
land was given to Nathan's children and " to their Heirs & assigns 
forever " ; to his sons 3 shares, and to his daughters 2 shares. His 
executors were empowered to improve the land for the use of 
Nathan Cheever and to be recompensed for their trouble. Nathan 
Cheever was forbidden to cut wood except for his own firewood, 
and fencing. The executors might sell a part of Nathan's real 
estate, if necessary for his further support. If Nathan's wife 
survived him, she was to have the use of one fourth of the real 
estate for life. 

(2) To his " youngest Son Joshua Cheever " he gave " my 
newest dwelling House, which I now dwell in, & about five Acres 
of Land adjoining to it," the S.E. comer thereof being due S. of 
sd well at the road; thence from the road due N. to the middle 
of the well and 10 rods beyond; thence due W. to the next fence; 
then N. on sd fence to land under improvement of Temple & 
Low; thence W. to the next fence and bounded N. on Temple 
and Low; thence S. on the last mentioned fence till it comes to 
the road ; thence E. on s'd road to the first bound and bounded S. 
on sd road " which goes before my Housen." Also 2 acres in E. 
end of my field adjoining to and W. of the barn yard ; the N. half 
of the barn and half of the bam yard. Also one half of all his 
lands etc. as to Nathan Cheever. 

The personal estate was to be equally divided between his two 

^ The house of Nathan Cheever, the new house mentioned in his will, 
was once supposed to be the dwelling of Rev. Thomas Cheever. " Revere 
Public Library Dedication," November 18, 1903, p. 21. 
VOL. I. — 11 



162 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

sons. The witnesses were Isaac Wait, Samuel Pratt and Richard 
Shute. (Suff. Prob. Eec., L. 74, ff. 157, 158.) 

The following items are from the inventor}^ of the estate : 

The old dwelling house etc. 3 acres £89- G- 8 

The new " " etc. 7 acres 182:13: 4 

To about 40 Acrs Land on the Hill, @ 8:13:4 per acre ... 346:13:4 

To about 6 Acrs Salt Marsh, & Upland, to ye West of ye Spring 36 

To about 3 Acrs by the old Meeting House, of Upland .... 33 

To 15 Acrs Salt Marsh, all at 90 

Signed Tho^ Pratt, Sam' Sprague, Samuel Sargeant, November 
24, 1774. (Suff. Prob. Eec., L. 74, f. 264.) 

March 31, 1775, twenty-one acres 145 poles of upland and salt- 
marsh were sold by the executors to William Eustis. (Suff. Prob. 
Rec, L. 74, f. 390. For the division of the remainder of the real 
estate, and the accounts of the executors, or trustees, see ibid., 
L. 74, ff. 389, 390; L. 76, f. 325; L. 87, ff. 112, 113.) 

At the division of the estate of Nathan Cheever, second of the 
name, ^March 25, 1788, it contained only 3 acres 138 poles of his 
father's estate, and the dwelling-house of Rev. Thomas Cheever. 
This house with 2 acres 15 poles of upland adjoining it, were 
assigned by Joshua Cheever, Jonathan Green, and Samuel Sar- 
gent, the committee appointed to settle, the estate, to Joseph 
Cheever, the eldest son. He was to pay his two brothers £7 IO5. 
3d. each, and his two sisters £5 2d. each. Other records show that 
the brothers were Thomas and Samuel, and the sisters Betsey, and 
Hannah, wife of William Emmons of Maiden. (See Suff. Deeds, 
L. 153, ff. 155, 207, etc.) One acre 123 poles, bounded south on 
the road from Chelsea meeting-house to the house of Joshua 
Cheever, Esqr., being the east part of the old house plot, was set 
off to the widow Elizabeth Cheever as the one fourth of her hus- 
band's lands, in which, according to the will of his father Nathan 
Cheever, she possessed a life interest. (Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 87, 
ff. 162-165.) 

Title to the greater portion of the lands assigned to Nathan 
Cheever in the division of his father Nathan's estate in 1774, had 
passed, before his death, to his son Joseph Cheever. April 27, 
1796, Joseph Cheever of Chelsea, Gentleman, conveyed to William 
Cheever, son of his uncle Joshua Cheever, for $1469.40, one acre 
132 poles of the old house plot, bounded east on the Widow Eliza- 
beth Cheever's " thirds" ; north on Hyslop and Greenough ; west on 
Joshua Cheever and south on the town road. No mention was 
made of a house standing thereon. It is noticeable that he con- 
veyed 43 poles less than he received from his father's estate, and 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 5 163 

yet his eastern bound was the widow Elizabeth Cheever. The deed 
also conveyed title to 17 acres 12 poles of upland on " Cheever's 
Hill " between the town road and the Yeamans farm, with Joshua 
Cheever to the east, west, and southwest; 3 acres 1531/^ poles of 
upland on the same hill, bounded south by the town road and 
on all other sides by Joshua Cheever; 5 acres 150 poles of upland 
and salt marsh bounded north on the town road, south on the 
creek, west on Daniel Pratt, and east on Joshua Cheever; 5 acres 
and 10 poles of salt marsh, formerly a part of the Hasey farm, 
(Suff. Deeds, L. 183, f. 40.) 

When the direct tax of 1798 was assessed the farm was owned 
by Joshua Cheever and his son William. William Cheever was 
owner and occupant of the lands conveyed to him in 1796 by 
Joseph Cheever. Joshua Cheever was owner and occupant of G9 
acres with a house thereon bounded south by a creek; west by 
Daniel Pratt, William Cheever and others ; north by land in the 
occupation of William Eustace (Newgate-Shrimpton farm) ; east 
William Cheever and said Eustace. The house covered 1344 feet, 
was of two stories, had 25 windows, and wnth an acre of land was 
valued at $650.00. There was a barn 60 X 30, and a corn barn 
16 X 10- He also owned 15 acres of dyke marsh '' in the Home 
Farm," 7 acres of salt marsh of the original Hasey farm, and 2^/2 
acres near the meeting-house. 

The tax list seems defective at this point, as no house is taxed 
either to William Cheever or to widow Elizabeth Cheever. Pre- 
sumably it was then in the occupation of the widow, as it was not 
mentioned in the conveyance to William Cheever; her name does 
not appear on the tax list. The widow became a charge upon the 
town, which, May 5, 1806, voted to lease her land to William 
Cheever for $27 a year during her life. He secured from her 
heirs the reversion of her lands, — two acres. (Suff. Deeds, 
L. 226, f. 7, etc.) 

The Salem turnpike was laid out in 1803, through the lands of 
William and Joshua Cheever. The land of the widow Elizabeth 
Cheever was not mentioned. From the boundary of the ISTewgate- 
Shrimpton farm, it passed over W™ Cheever's Land 21 poles 
10 links " to a stake, or bound in his Garden," thence south 48° 
west over said Cheever's Land 2 poles 8 links; thence over 
Deacon Joshua Cheever's Land 2 poles 10 links, " to the Road, 
thence across the Town Eoad [Fenno Street] ; thence over said 
Joshua Cheever's Land the same course " 90 poles 23 links to the 
creek. 

April 20, 1812, William Cheever conveyed the 2% acres of the 
house lot of Rev. Thomas Cheever lying east of the turnpike 



164 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

(Broadway) and north of the town road (Beach Street), "with 
all the buildings thereon standing," and also " one half of the 
well standing on the Westerly side of said turnpike road and oppo- 
site to the premises above described," to George Dick (L. 240, 
f. 87). This was doubtless the well between the houses of Eev. 
Thomas Cheever and Nathan Cheever mentioned in the latter's 
wnll. Dick conveyed the same to Benjamin Wilson in 1814 
(L. 244, ff. 28, 29) ; Wilson to John Wright in 1823 (L. 284, 
f. 8). The land appears under the name of John Wright on the 
plan of the Yeamans farm in 1844 (L. 525, f. 305). Evidently 
within this lot of land was the site of Eev. Thomas Cheever's 
house.^^ 

For the division of the estate of Deacon Joshua Cheever in 
1814, see Suff. Deeds, L. 613, ff. 221, 224. For the restoration of 
the Cheever farm in the Fenno farm, .see L. 385, ff. 3-8 ; also 
L. 335, f. 164; L. 250, f. 115; L. 613, ff. 221, 224. A plan of the 
Fenno farm in 1846 by John Low is in Suff. Deeds, L. 560, f . 304. 
The lands of Harris and of J. Pierce, marked thereon, belonged 
originally to the Cheever farm; also 21/0 acres sold by Nathan 
Cheever to Daniel Pratt in 1762, and the lands of John Wright, — 
both noted above. The house of Nathan Cheever, first of the 
name, stood north of Fenno Street and west of Broadway. The 
'"' old barn yard " was south of Fenno Street and west of Broadway. 
There was also a " small barn yard " east of Broadway, south of 
Beach Street. (L. 385, ff. 3-8, 1834.) ] 

** See supra, p. IGl, and note 22. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 6 105 



APPENDIX 6 

[John Newgate, by will dated November 25, 1664, and pro- 
bated September 11, 1665, left his farm at Eumney Marsh, with 
houses in Charlestown and Boston, to his wife, Ann Newgate, for 
life. After her death the farm and the house in Charlestown were 
to revert to his son " Nathaniel his Heyres & assighnes." ^ In the 
inventory, signed by James Penn, Tho. Brattle and Tho. Buttolph, 
the " ffarme at Eumley Marshe, with all the houses thereunto 
Belonging, out housing & Marsh at Hogge Jsland with al y*^ appur- 
tenances thereunto belonging " was valued at £600.^ Nathaniel 
Newgate, a merchant and shipowner, married Isabella, sister of 
Sir John Lewis of Leedstone, Yorkshire, England, and lived 
at Greenwich near London. His will, dated September 8, 1668, 
and probated in England on September 22 of the same year, 
reads : " I giue all my lands tenements hereditaments in New 
England to my sonne Nathaniell Newgate and the heires males of 
his body ... J appoint the said Simon Lynd to receiue the rents 
Jssues and proffits of my said lands in New England during the 
minority of my said son Nathaniell he glueing a true account for 
the same when my sonne shall come to the age of one and twenty 
years." By a codicil to this will, signed on the same day, he 
left " the sume of one hundred pounds to be disposed of to such 
silenced Ministers as Docter Wilkins & the said Edmund White 
shall direct and that the said Docter Wilkins shall receiue such 
part and share of the said one hundred pounds as he and the said 
Edmund "VAHiite shall agree on." He gave many legacies and 
mourning rings to relatives and friends, among others to " S"* 
AVilliam Peake the now Lord Mayor of London forty shillings to 
buy him a ring." ^ 

Anne Newgate, widow of John Newgate, by will dated August 
6, 1676, and probated April 8, 1679, bequeathed " unto Nathanael 

* SuflF. Prob. Rec, L. 1, ff. 450-453. See also SuflF. Deeds, L. 9, ff. 42, 
101-103. 

' Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 4, flf. 245-249. 

^ Certified copy of the will, March 3, 1687/8, from the registry of the 
Prerogative Court of Canterbury. Chamberlain MSS., iii. 193. 



166 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

Newgate the Son of my Son Nathanael Newgate dece*^. that five 
Acres of Marsh which I purchased of Edward Weeden of Humbly 
Marsh, and it joines to the ffarme which my husband gave to his 
Son Nathanael Newgate, but being now deceased the right of 
Inheritance belongeth imto his Son Nathanael and his heires for 
ever, I am willing therefore as a testimony of my deare and tender 
love to my aboves*^. Grand Son Nathanael Newgate to cast in my 
small gift of that five Acres of Marsh abovementioned to him 
the s^. Nathanael Newgate." * The grandson, Nathanael, married 
June 5, 1G88, his cousin Sarah, daughter of the Simon Lynde 
mentioned in his father Nathanael's will.^ His mother Isabella 
married John Johnson of London, merchant, and died before 
November 24, 1679.° 

June 1, 1687, an Indenture was signed between Nathaniell New- 
digate alias Newgate of London, merchant, and John Shelton and 
Nicholas Brattle, also of London, according to which Newgate 
agreed to levy a " ffine sur Conusans de droit come ceo &c," during 
" this p'^sent Trinity Term " in the Court of Common Pleas at 
Westminster for his lands in Charlostown, Rumney Marsh, and 
Hogg Island unto said Shelton and Brattle, said fine to enure to 
the use of said " Nathaniell Newdigate alias Newgate his heires 
and Assignes for ever and to and for none other vse intent or 
purpose whatsoever." '' The first page of the fine levied in pur- 
suance of this agreement hangs on the walls of the Bostonian 
Society's rooms in the old State House. It is there mistakenly 
labelled a deed from the Andros government. It is said to be of 
date June 15, 1687. Both the indenture and the fine were re- 
corded by " John West, D. Secfy " in the " Secrys Office for his 
Maties Territory and Dominion of New England att Boston," 
December 21, 1687. Presumably this was merely a common 
recovery to bar the entail, as it is known that Newgate was in 
Boston as early as November 15, 1687, and was desirous of sell- 
ing the farm.^ Possibly he hoped that the court's judgment would 
strengthen his title to resist attack by the Andros government. 
Simon Lynde, with that end in view, had procured a deed from the 

* Suff. Prob. Rcc, L. 6, f. 2G7. Possibly this marsh was at Hog 
Island. Suff. Deeds, L. 8, f. 51.. 

" Sewall's Diary, i. 216. Suff. Deeds, L. IG, ff. .30S, 40.3. 

' Official endorsement on the will of Nathaniel Newgate cited above. 

' Indenture signed by Nicliolas Brattle, Jno Shelton, Nathaniell New- 
digate aZs. Newgate, with official endorsements thereon. Chamberlain MSS., 
iv. 21. 

« Letter from Samuel Sewall, G Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc, i. GS; also 70, 
note. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 6 167 

Indians in 1685.'' In a petition endorsed " 16*^. July 1688 " New- 
gate states that he was summoned to the Superior Court at 
Boston to answer an " Information Exhibited " there by the 
Attorney-General concerning the lands at Eumney Marsh and Hog 
Island, but was " Unwilling to Stand Suit with the King," and 
craved a grant of the land " Under such Moderat Eents as your 
Excell^y Shall thinck fitt." No answer is endorsed on the jjetition, 
and the records of the Council are missing.^" 

November 23, 1688, " Nathanael Newdigate als Newgate of the 
Citty of London . . . att p^'sent Sojourning in Boston " signed 
and sealed in the presence of four witnesses a conveyance of the 
farm at Eumney Marsh, subject to the payment of five pounds 
yearly to Harvard College, but with no mention of quitrents to 
the king, to Samuel Shrimpton Esq. for £350, " Sterling mony 
of England." 

On the same day Newgate sailed for England, in the ship 
with Samuel Sewall. Two days later Epaphras Shrimpton as 
attorney for Nathaniel Newdigate gave possession on the premises 
to Samuel Shrimpton in the presence of Jn"^ Lake, Sam'^ Pease, 
Char^. Ploummer, James Meers juner and John Wiswall s^". 
(27: 2: 39).^^ December 5, 1688, John Lake, James Meers 
jun"", Nathanael Myles and Eliezer Moody, witnesses to the deed, 
made oath to the signature of Nathaniell Newdigate before Wait 
Winthrop, a member of " his Maj*'^® Council," but the conveyance 
does not seem to have been recorded in New England under the 
Andros regime}^ 

February 25, 1688/9, " Nath. Newdigate als Newgate late of 
Boston in New England now in London March*." made oath in 
Chancery to the sale of the lands in November last, free from all 
encumbrances by him or by any one " clayming by from or under 
this deponent in trust for this deponent." A copy of this oath, ad- 
dressed to Coin. Samuel Shrimpton, was received and forwarded 
March 2 by Jo° Eichardson.^^ Under date of October 11, 1692, 
there was endorsed upon the original deed, a receipt signed by 
" Nath : Newdigate als Newgate " for £350, also the consent of 
Sarah Newdigate, both in the presence of Is^: Addington and 

° Supra, cliap. v. Simon Lynde died November 21, 1687. Sewall's 
Diary, i. 195. 

^° Supra, chap. v. 

" John Wiswall attached the date of his birth to his signature as a 
means of identification. 

" Official endorsements on the original deed. Chamberlain MSS., iv. 29. 

" Certified copy from the court records with endorsement by John 
Richardson. Chamberlain MSS., iv. 22. 



.168 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

Epaph^ Shrimpton; also the acknowledgment of Nathaniel and 
Sarah Newdigate before Samuel Sewall, Justice of the Peace. 
The deed was recorded in the Suffolk Eegistry of Deeds, February 
4, 1692/3." 

In 1672, Henry Green was tenant on the farm under Mrs, Ann 
Newgate.^^ Presumably he was the son of Thomas Green of Mai- 
den, born about January, 1638/9.^" In 1658 and 1667 Henry 
Green was surveyor of roads at Eumney Marsh, and in 1664 
constable. His name appears on the tax list of 1674, but not on 
that of 1687. July 21, 1671, Eichard Smith assigned to " Henry 
Greene of Eumney Marsh" two indentured servants, Deborah 
Phillips for thirteen years, and her brother, Edward Phillips, for 
ten years.^^ January 11, 1671/2 Green married Esther Hasey, 
daughter of William Hasey of the adjoining farm.^* He served 
under Lieutenant Hasey in the Three County Troop in King 
Philip's War.^'* His later life was spent in Maiden.^'' 

In February, 1702/3 " one Marable " was tenant on the farm.^" 
In the tax lists for Eumney Marsh 1701 and 1702, "Thomas 
marbel " was taxed for a farm valued at £30 a year, the rent which 
Eobert Temple paid later for the Newgate-Shrimpton farm. He 
had in 1702 a horse, two oxen, six cows, fifty sheep, and two 
swine. Thomas Marable was a fence viewer at Eumney Marsh in 
1703. Presumal)ly he was the Thomas Marable who, in 1696, was 
a tenant on Usher's farm in Charlestown, — the Ten Hills 
farm, — and who married Sarah Bell, August 30, 1689." March 
27, 1710, he leased a house and land of Nicholas Paige. His later 
history will be found in the appendix on the Keayne farm.^^ 

November 4, 1715, and August 8, 1716, the farm is described as 
in the possession of John Chamberlain; and December 10, 1719, 
as the " farm on which John Chamberlaine Jun^" now lives," ^^ 

" L. 16, f. 1. 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 8, f. 17G. 

*° Wynian. 

" Siiff. Deeds, L. 6, ff. 304, 305. 

** Infra, Appendix 12. 

'* Corey. Maiden, 324, etc. 

="> Suff.* Deeds, L. 21, f. 410. 

==1 Middlesex Court Files, March, lfi96; Wyman. June 11, 1709, 
Thomas Marable took oath before Nicliolas Pai<?e, Justice of the Peace 
resident at Rumney Marsh, that on February 22, 1G98/9 he paid Joseph 
Whittemore £30 on the account of John Usher, Esq. Chamberlain MSS., 
iv. 34. (A. D.S. by Nicholas Paige.) In 1708 Thomas Marable of 
Rumney Marsh sold land in Charlestown. Wyman. 

^ Infra, appendix to chap. xxi. 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 31, f. 13; L. 34, f. 27; L. 35, f. 13G. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 6 1G9 

doubtless the son of John Chamberlain, tenant on the Dudley 
farm.^* March 1, 1733/4, Deacon John Chamberlain asked to 
be relieved of the care of the church funds at Kumney Marsh, 
" because of his removal to live at Pullen-point/' In the same 
year (1734) Jacob Hasey, brother-in-law of John Chamberlain, 
sold to Robert Temple an acre of land, which lay on the east side 
of " the Eoad which leads to the Landing place," and adjoined 
the Yeamans (or Newgate) farm, which lay between it and the 
Mill Eiver.-^ Doubtless Eobert Temple was lessee of the Yeamans 
farm when he bought this acre of land. Presumably the year 
1734 marked the end of John Chamberlain's tenancy of the farm, 
and the beginning of Eobert Temple's. Possibly John Chamber- 
lain, and before him Henry Green, had occupied buildings on 
this acre of land belonging to their brothers-in-law. The land was 
conveyed by Eobert Temple to John Yeamans, " late of S* James's 
Parish, Westminster," August 15, 1748. ^'^ 

Eobert Temple, father and son, lived at Noddle's Island until 
1760; after that, presumably, at the Ten Hills farm, which the 
father bought in 1740, or in the village of Charlestown. He 
is always described in land conve3^ances, — in 1748, 1766, 1778, 
etc., — as Eobert Temple of Charlestown. He managed many 
farms ^^ and presumably had under-tenants. In 1771 and 1772, 
the farm was described as land " under the improvement of 
Eobert Temple Esqr. and William Low." ^^ June 17, 1761, 
" W^ Low of Chelsea " bought of David Jenkins a " Dwelling 
House Barn and Buildings," and eighteen acres of land, originally 
a part of the Hasey farm.^^ May 4, 1763, Nathan Lewis sold 
William Low three acres fronting twenty-one rods on the town 
road, its south corner being at the " bars leading from said road 
into Mr. Temple's farm so called." ^"^ During the following years 
he purchased other lands in Chelsea.^^ 

September 21, 1780, the Newgate- Yeamans farm was described 
by its owners as " lately occupied by Eobert Temple Esq. (& now 
in possession by lease) of Mr. Henry Howell Williams." ^^ He 

"* Infra, appendix to chap. xix. 
" Infra, Appendix 12. 

'" Original deed in Chamberlain MSS., iv. 45; recorded among Suff. 
Deeds, L. 75, ff. 136, 137. 

=" Sumner, East Boston, 323. 

^ Suff. Deeds, L. 119, f. 45; L. 121, f. 46; L. 124, f. 209. 

^ Ibid., L. 90, f. 143; infra, Appendix 12. 

=" Ibid., L. 100, f. 178. 

"' Infra, Appendixes 11 and 12. 

"= Suff. D^eds, L. 302, f. 137. 



170 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Cuap. VI 

had been lessee of Noddle's Island since about 1762; in 1791 he 
purchased the Ferry Farm at Winnisimmet. 

AVhen the direct tax of 1798 was assessed, the tenant was William 
Eustace, who on April 19, 1775, left one of the Bellingham 
farms, on which he or his ancestors had been tenants for over 
one hundred years, and was living in Charlton, Worcester County, 
in 1785.^^ The farm was taxed as containing 400 acres. There 
were two barns 60 X 30, and 50 X 32, and a corn barn 24 X 13 
feet. The house covered 1344 feet, was of two stories, had 22 win- 
dows, was " Verry Old," and, with one acre of land, was valued 
at $660. The farm paid an annuity of $16.66 to Harvard College, 
— the £5 a year entailed on it by its first owner, John Newgate.] 

" Infra, chaps, vii. and xviii. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 7 171 



APPENDIX 7 

[" At a Court of General Sessions of the Peace begun and held 
at Boston for and within the County of Suffolk on the first Tues- 
day of October being the Sixth day of the said Month Annoque 
Domini 1713. . . . Nicholas Paige Esq'' Cap* Elisha Bennet 
William Ireland and Joseph Bill in behalf of themselves and others 
the Inhabitants of Eumney Marsh Complain against Simeon 
Stoddard of Boston Esq"". For that Whereas Pursuant to an Order 
or Vote of the Town of Boston in the year 1635 a Committee of 
the said Town in the year 1666 repaired to Eumney Marsh afore- 
said to Survey and Settle the highways of that place, as well those 
that led to other Towns as those that lead to the water side &c 
And Whereas for these Three score years last past (until very 
lately) the Inhabitants of Eumney Marsh have been in the Con- 
stant known & peaceable Improvement of a certain highway 
leading down to a Landing place on the farm now Shrimptons 
formerly ISTawdigates (it being indeed the only publick Landing 
place w*^^ the said Inhabitants have to make use of and of absolute 
necessity to them) and grows more so as the said hamlet increases; 
And that the said Simeon Stoddard Esq"* sometime the last Winter 
absolutely Shut up and fenced in the said highway to the very 
great Greviance of Her Maj*'*^^ good Subjects living and trading 
in Eumney Marsh aforesaid and against Laws. The Def* Simeon 
Stoddard Esq"" beforenamed appeared by Joseph Hearne his 
Attorney and pleaded Not Guilty in manner and form &c, Upon 
which issue being joined, the Case after a full hearing was Com- 
mitted to the Jury who were Sworne according to Law to try the 
same and returned their Verdict therein upon Oath That is to 
say. That the said Simeon Stoddard is Guilty as in the Complaint 
is set forth. It's Therefore Considered and Ordered by the Court 
That the said Simeon Stoddard take down and remove or cause 
to be taken down and removed the said fence, and the said higli- 
way to be laid open within the space of Fourteen days under the 
penalty of Fifty pounds and pay the Costs occasioned by the 
Petition or Complaint." ^ 

^ Records of the Court of General Sessions of the Peace, 1712-1719, 
32, 33. 



172 



HISTORY OF CHELSEA 



[Chap. VI 



From the report of the committee of 1666 here referred to, it 
appears ^ that the road to the waterside, staked out between the 
allotments of January, 1637/8,^ was deflected to avoid marsh and 
hill. Hence the town landing came to be within the limits of 
the Newgate farm. 

The cost of this suit to the town of Boston appears in the 
following account.* 

[1713] Charge of Sute with mr Simeon 

Stodard aboute the hiway att P Con : Cr 

[April] runili-marsh 

paid Mr Brintnol for 7 horses and P Charj^e alowed p 

exspenses f -15- the Corte £3-13-6 

to ferry of 14 men bak and forwd . . 7 - Balans du 2-00-6 

to Mr Wats for 5 horses 10 - £5 _ 1 4 _ n 

to exspenses theare 4-6 

to the Jurey for going ouer : . . . 2-6-6 

to Mr Dudleys fee 10- 

to taking oute the record 2 - 

to a patision drawing 2 — 

to 2 sumones 2 - 

to more money to Mr Dudley ... 5 - 

to my owne exspenses 10 — 

£5-14-0 
Erers excepted p 

Elisha Bennett.] 

* Infra, chap. xxv. 

' Supra, Appendix 1. 

* A. D. S. Town Papers, 1713-1733, p. 1. Office of Registrj- of Births 
and Deaths, Old Court House. Boston. The figures and word in brackets 
are in ink of a different color. 



\ 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 8 173 



APPENDIX 8 

[John Cogan died April 27, 1658. Under date of April 25, 
1659 in the town records is the entry: "Whereas information is 
given of a considerable tract of meadow and upland belonging 
to this towne, which lays obscured under the claime of M"" Cogans 
farme in Eumny Marsh. Now to the end that the towne might 
nott loose itts right, nor yett'by any claime of the said towne 
the said Cogans just due [be] diminished ; itt is therefore ordered 
that a surveyor bee speedily sent to measure the said land, and 
according to the right due either to towne or person aforesaid, to 
sett out the bounds, that the cleare right of the said Cogan may 
bee settled on a sure foundation, and the towne advantaged to 
make improovement of what shall appeare justly to be their owne." 
The vote of June 13, quoted in the text, was presumably based on 
the report of this survey, June l-l, 1698, the following deposition 
was placed on record.^ 

" The Testimony of Thomas Skinner sen"" of Maiden being of 
full Age Saith that of my certain knowledge that m^" Cogging's 
It'arme at Eumny Marsh within the bounds of Boston where Cap* 
ffloyd now lives in, hath been possest by John Doolittle and 
Thomas Stocker and the said Floyd by plowing and fencing quite 
to the Sea or the Sandy beach and so quite along to the pines Eiver 
that goes to L3^nn, and so the aljovesaid hath peaceably injoyed it 
without any claime being laid to it as I can ever heare for above 
forty seven yeares as Tenents to Master Coggans and his success- 
ors and farther saith not as witness my hand. 

Thomas Skinner 
Sworne Lynn May the 28tii 1698 

Before John Hathorne ) Just p*^. 
Entred from June l-i. 1698 Jonathan Corwin ) & Cor*' 

p Joseph Webb Eeg''," 
On the same day. May 28, 1698, Crispin Brewer of Lynn signed 
a duplicate of this deposition. 

The names of Thomas Stocker, Sr., Thomas Stocker, Jr., and 
John Doolittle appear on the Eumney Marsh tax list for 1674. 
John Doolittle was the heaviest taxpayer in the district — paying 

» Suff. Deeds, L. 18, f. 211. 



174 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

seventeen shillings each for town and county; Thomas Stocker, 
Sr,, Deane Winthrop, Ben. Mussy (tenant on the Keayne farm), 
and William Hasey paid sixteen shillings each. In 1681 there 
appears " John Flood for himself and the estate of Jn** Dolittle"; 
no one hy the name of Stocker is listed. Thomas Stocker was 
surveyor in 1652, 1654, and constable in 1661, for the dis- 
trict of Eumney Marsh; John Doolittle was constable in 1653, 
1671; surveyor in 1663, and tythingman in 1680; John Floyd 
was constable in 1681, 1698; surveyor in 1684; tythingman in 
1685 and 1695. 

April 12, 1640, Thomas Lcchford drew articles of agreement 
between " M^. John Cogan & Thomas Stocker." ^ Presumably the 
latter's tenancy of the farm dates from 1640. He witnessed, by 
mark, not signature, the conveyance from Cogan to Bennett, in 
March, 1652/3, of the house and land north of the Pines River on 
the road to Lynn.^ He is mentioned as tenant on the Cogan farm 
in June, 1652.* May 6, 1655, Thomas and Elizabeth, children of 
Thomas and Martha Stocker of the church of Lynn, were bap- 
tized by the pastor of the First Church in Boston. Later the 
family lived apparently in Lynn, near Boston bounds. 

The name of John Dolitle was appended to a Lynn petition 
in 1643.^ He received a small legacy from Edward Holyoke, by 
Avill dated December 25, 1658, and with John Tuttle appraised his 
estate, June 19, 1660. He was appointed overseer of the will of 
William Burnell of Pullen Point, dated April 16, 1660, and held 
other oflfices of trust.'' February 1, 1667/8, John Doolittle bought 
of Samuel Bennet thirty-five acres of land, with " a new House " 
thereon, adjoining Capt. Keayne's farm to the northwest, but 
across the boundary in Maiden; John Paul was living in this 
house at the death of Doolittle in 1681.^ In 1677 and 1678, he 
bought for £400 the life interest of Mrs. Joseph Rocke, daughter 
of John Cogan, in one fifth of her father's estate, and also the 
right therein bequeathed to Mrs. Rocke and her daughter Mrs. 
Hannah Brading by the will of her nephew Sanies Robinson, 
grandson of John Cogan.* Acording to his inventory James 
Robinson owned one fifth of the farm at Rumney ]\[arsh and a 
part of Mr. Cogan's estate in Boston. He willed one half to his 

' Note-Book, 144. 

' Suff. Deeds, L. 1, f. 294. 

♦ Ihid., L. 117, f. 102. 

" N. E. Hist, and Gen. Reg., xxxiii. 61. 

" Appendixes 10 and 11. 

' Middlesex Deeds, L. 38, f. 000. 

8 Suff. Deeds, L. 10, ff. 184, 186; L. 11, f. 41. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 8 1T5 

brothers and sisters and one half to his aunt and cousin; the 
division of the estate is not given, but presumably Doolittle by 
the above deeds became owner of one tenth of the farm. He 
bequeathed his right in the houses on the peninsula of Boston to 
his brother Abraham, who sold it.'' Presumably John Floyd, Doo- 
little's son-in-law, acquired for his children, as Doolittle's residuary 
legatees, one tenth of the Cogan farm, for the widow and chil- 
dren of Thomas Eobinson, grandson of John Cogan, sold to Hugh 
Floyd one third part of nine tenths of the farm.^° According to 
the inventory of James Robinson the farm was " in the tenure 
and occupation of John Doelittle" in 1676.^^ December 27, 
1678, Doolittle purchased for £250 one fourth of the Keayne 
great farm (exclusive of buildings), from John Wiswall, Jr.^^ 
October 30, 1674, he married Sibyl, widow of Miles ISTutt, who died 
at Maiden, July 2, 1671, and earlier of John Bible of Maiden, 
who died in July, 1653.^=^ She died September 23, 1690, aged 
about eighty-two.^* He died September 24, 1681. He left legacies 
to a brother, Abraham Dowlettell of Wallingford, New Haven 
County, Connecticut, to his wife Sibyl and to her grandchildren, 
Benjamin Jones and the children of Mary Jenkins, wife of Oba- 
diah Jenkins. He gave to Sarah Floyd, daughter of John Floyd, 
£100, and to " Sarah Floyd the wife of John and their Children," 
fifty pounds; and left as residuary legatees "John Floyds Chil- 
dren." He appointed his " Son in Law John Floyd " executor. 
He gave to " the Eeverend m^ Wigglesworth Pastor of the Church 
of Maiden twenty shillings in Silver yearly to bee paid to him so 
long as bee liveth in Maiden," and secured the same on a farm in 
Maiden which he gave to Joseph Floyd, son of John Floyd, if he 
lived to attain his majority.^^ He gave " unto John Floyd that 
two hundred pounds that Ebenezar Stocker is to pay me twenty 
pounds a yeare towards the maintaining of one of his Sons at the 
Colledge which hee and his wife thinke most fit that if God see 
good hee may bee an able minister to preach the holy word of 
God." He made his mark. The will was witnessed by John 
Eichards and Ebenezar Stocker Sept. 22, 1681 ; both made their 
marks. ^^ His inventory follows. 

» Suff. Deeds, L. 12, ff. 343, 344. 

" Ibid., L. 26, f. 198. 

" Suff. Prob. Ree., L. 12, f. 124. 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 11, f. 202; htfra, chap. xix. 

" Wyman; Savage, Gen. Diet., i. 174. 

" Maiden Vital Records, 341. 

" See also Corey, Maiden, 360, note. 

" Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 6, f. 358. 



176 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 



AN JNVENTORY " of the Estate of John Dowlettell of Rumney 
Mabsh in Boston in the County of Suffolke deceased the . 2-4 : 
7:81: and apprized by us whose Names abe underwritten the . 
10 : 8 : 1681. 

li . s . d 

Jmprs Jn money £ 033 : 08 : 00 

Jn Bonds bills and mortgages . money £ 305 : 00 : 00 

In the Parlor. 
1 : new Searge Sute, being a loose Coate wast coate & 

breeches £ 002 : 10 : 00 

1 . sad coloured Cloth Sute, being a loose Coate & breeches £ 002 : 00 : 00 

1 , black Sute being doublet and breeches £ 001 : 00 : 00 

5 . pr old breeches at £ 001 : 00 : 00 

1 . old doublet & wast coate & two old close bodyed Coates £ 001 : 00 : 00 

2 . Searge loose bodied Coates f 001 : 00 : 00 

2 . Cioth Coates loose bodyed . 30/s ffour old Shirts & . 

2 . new . 30/s £ 003 : 00 : 00 

11 . bands . 1 . silke Neck cloth . 3 . night caps . 1 . Speckle 

Neck cloth £ 001 : 00 : 00 

5 . pa Stockins . 2 . pa gloves . 1 . pa bootes . 1 . pa Shoes . 

1 . pa busks £ 001 : 17 : 00 

2 . Hatts . at . 20/s two Bibles & all other Bookes . 511 . £ 006 : 00 : 00 

3 . muskets . 2 . Swords . belts Snaps £ " 004 : 00 : 00 

1 . ffeather Bed and ffurniture £ 008 : 00 : 00 

1 . trundle Bed and ffurniture £ 007 : 00 : 00 

4 . table cloth's . 14 . Napkins . 40/s two : pr Sheets. 2 pa 

pillow-beers & Chest 50/s £ 004 : 10 : 00 

4 . yds Searge £ 000 : 15 : 00 

1 . great table and fforme, Carpet Chaires Chest & Box . £ 003 : 10 : 00 
1 . warming pan, Bed pan & Chamber pot £ 000 : 18 : 00 

Eitchin. 

Pewter . dishes porringers and Cups £ 003 : 00 : 00 

2 . tramels . 1 . pa Andirons, tongs firepan. 2 Spits & drip 

pan, pestle niorter . fry pan Jron pot & other Lumber £ 003 : 00 : 00 

Leanto d Cellar 

Milke vessells, Cheese presses, brass, Earthen pots & other 

Lumber £ 005 : 00 : 00 

Parlor Chamber 

Home made Kearsey . 34. yds 4/6 £ 007 : 13 : 00 

1 . ps Blanketing . 20/s tiiirty yds Cotton & Lin : Cloth : 

& . 7 . yds linnen £ 005 : 04 : 00 

1 . Green Rugg . 1 . blankett and pillow £ 002 : 00 : 00 

10 . pa Sheets and towell £ 006 : 00 : 00 

Bedding Chamber pot. Chest and Lumber £ 004 : 00 : 00 

" Suff. Prob. Rec., L. 9, ff. 55, 56. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 8 177 

Kitchin Chamber 

8 : buslis Rye and wlieate . 7 : Jndian £ 002 : 00 : 00 

4 . Sacks . 2 : old Saddles, Pillion Selves woolen wheele 

Lumber f 002 : 00 : 00 

Cattle 

15 : Oxen at . 60H twenty one Cowes at . 631i f 123 : 00 : 00 

9.2. yearelings . at 22/10 . ffour yeare olds . at . £ . 6 . £ 028 : 10 : 00 

9 . Suilier Calves . 9Ii Seventy Six Sheep & . 10 . Lambs . T'i 

P Score £ 037 : 00 : 00 

7 . Horses . at . 2111 three . 2 . yeare c^d Colts . f . 8 . . . £ 029 : 00 : 00 
2 . yearling Colts . at . 3li/10 : one Sucking Colt . 20/s 21 : 

hoggs & . 8 . Shoates . 2311 £ 027 : 10 : 00 

Husbandry Utensils 

2 plowes with Jrons & chaines . 1 . Cart & yokes .... £ 002 : 15 : 00 

wedges, beetle and rings, axe, Cro . grindstone winch . . £ 001 : 05 : 00 

Forkes rakes and how's £ 000 : 06 : 00 

2 . cart : ropes, halters, Bed cord £ 000 : 15 : 00 

Augurs, Mortis axe £ 000 : 04 : 00 

Box iron, Sheep Sheer's, pannell Lumber £ 000 : 13 : 00 

Come 

80 . bushs Jndian Come . £ . 8. Sixty bushs Barley . £ . 9. 

Eighteen bushs Rye . 54/s £ 019 : 14 : 00 

Houses d Lands. 

At Lyn . 20 . acres of Salt Marsh land that was bought of 

mr Holyoke £ " 100 : 00 : 00 

At Lyn . 10 . acres of Salt Marsh that was bought of 

Browne £ " 050 : 00 : 00 

One Quarter part of Keyn's flfarme bought of John 

Wiswall £ " 250 : 00 : 00 

A . house and land in Maiden . that John Paul lives in 

bought of Samuel Bennet £ " 150 : 00 : 00 

One halfe part of James Robinsons Estate that hee gave 
to mrs Rock and mrs Braiden . and was bought of 
mr Rock and mr Bromfeild £ " 300 : 00 : 00 

The land bought of Wellman . lying in Maiden £ " 030 : 00 : 00 

£"1578 : 07 : 
Apprized by us — John Waite . 

John Smith . William Jreland — 

John Floyd Executo'* made Oath this . 14°. Octob^ 1681 . before 
Tho : Danforth Esq"" Deputy Gov"^ and John Eichards Escf 
Assist . that this Jnventory containes a Just and true Acco*^* of the 
Estate of his late ffather in law John Dowlettell so far as hath 
come to his knowledge, and that w° more appeares hee will cause 
it to bee added. 

Js^: Addington CF^j 

VOL. I. — 12 



178 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 



APPE^^DIX 9 

Cogan's estate was 600 acres, of which Captain John Floyd was 
tenant. Cogan's daughter married Tlionias Robinson of Scituate, 
where was a John Floyd in 164Q, who may have been the father 
of Captain John of Enmney Marsh. [For John Floyd and Anne 
his wife, of Scituate, London, and Boston, merchant, see Boston 
Rec. Com. Eep., xxxii. 37; Lechford, Note-Book, 297 [168]; 
Sulf. Deeds, L. 2, f. 294; L. 3, if. 210-212; Boston Town Rec- 
ords, September 25, 1654. According to Alonzo Lewis there was 
a Joseph Floyd at Lynn in 1635, who sold his house there in 1666, 
and "removed to Chelsea." (Hist, of Lynn, ed. 1865, 153.) 
John Floyd is known to have lived in Lynn, as five of his children 
were reported to the court as born there, — Sarah, Febraary 24, 
1661/2, Hugh, John, Joseph, and Joana, the latter born January 
3, 1668/9. (Vital Records of Latiu.) In December, 1670, he had 
a son Noah born in Maiden, where his son Daniel was also born, 
December 28, 1675. (Vital Records of ]\Ialden.) He owned a 
house and land near Black Ann's Corner, near the house which 
John Doolittle bequeathed to the son, Joseph Floyd. (Corey, 
366, note 29.) Presumably Mary, recorded at Boston as of 
"John & Sarah Flood," born August 14, 1679, was his daugh- 
ter. He was constable for Rumney Marsh in 1681. In 1674, 
when he took the oath of fidelity, he was " about thirty-six years 
of age." (Corey, 323, note 61.) In June, 1680, he was "44 
years or thare abouts," and, from the testimony which he gave, 
appears to have lived in the neighborhood as early as Januar}% 
1664/5, the date of John Smith's lease of the Ferry farm. (Infra, 
chap, xxiii.)] 

Floyd Avas a man of intelligence, and an officer of merit in the 
Indian War of 1690. See his deposition, Oct. 4, 1690, when, at 
the age of fifty-four, he was sailing against the enemy at the east- 
ward; and an interesting letter to the Governor and Council, 
January 27, 1691/2, giving an account of Indian hostilities at 
York, Maine. !Mass. Archives, xxxvi. 178; xxxvii. 258. [May 27, 
1G90, Captain John Floyd was ordered to gather the troop under 
his command and advance toward Piscataqua, and June 10 sixty 
soldiers were added to the command of Captain Floyd and posted 
at Portsmouth. {Ibid., xxxvi. 85, 114.) "July 6, 1690, Capt. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 9 179 

Floyd fought the enemy at Wheelwright's pond," then in Dover, 
now Lee, N. H., " but was forced to Eetire with loss of 16 men." 
(Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc., xiv, 126.) For the encounter at Casco, 
now Portland, September, 1690, see 4 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc, v. 
2 To. He served as Lieutenant under Captain Henchman in King 
Philip's War, being accredited to Maiden in the settlement of 
August, 16T6. (Corey, 324; Mass. Archives, Ixviii. 244, 246.) 
. April 12, 1689, Governor Andros, according to a rough draft in his 
handwriting preserved in the Massachusetts Archives, wrote Captain 
Floyd " fforasmuch as yoV have given me to und^'stand that Severall 
of y'^' Souldiers und'^' yo^" Command have in a Mutinous Manner con- 
trary to yo"" Ord^ left & Deserted their Service & Station att Saco 
Eiver & are marching towards this place, Yo"? are therefore 

forthwith to Repair to y"" s^ Station & by the Way to Command 
& March Back any of yo'"" sd Souldiers yo*^ shall meete with " and 
" there Eemaine till further Ordl'^ " Also Lieutenant John Pud- 
dington of the post at Kenel^unke was ordered to Boston to ex- 
plain why he had contrary to his orders, " Quitted & Discharged 
y^ Garison & Souldiers att Kenebunke," and Captain Floyd 
was ordered to take command thereof. Rough drafts of these 
letters, and of an order that Justices of the Peace, Constables, and 
sheriffs render aid to Captain Floyd in the discharge of his said 
duty, have been preserved in the Mass. Archives (cxxix. 368-372). 
This was a week before the Revolution which deposed Andros. 
See infi'a, chaps, xix. to xxi, for losses suffered by Floyd during 
the intercharter period.] March 14, 1700/01 the General Court 
resolved " That Twenty Pounds be Granted in full for Acc*^ of 
Cap* John ffloyd." Acts and Resolves, vii. 274; from page 223, 
it appears that this was for services " during the time of S"^" Edmond 
Andros's Governm*." [See also ibid., 653, 671. During the 
witchcraft craze, in June, 1692, a warrant was issued for his arrest, 
and testimony was given against him at Salem. Corey, Maiden, 
332.] 

He was at Rumney Marsh in 1680, and died in 1701, leaving 
four sons: Hugh, born [Sept. 10,] 1663; died ISTovember 17, 
1730 [aged sixty-seven years according to the gravestone at Re- 
vere] ; John, born 1665, died January 7, 1723/4; Joseph and 
Daniel. He also left two daughters, Mrs. Sarah Upham [wife of 
Nathaniel Upham of Maiden] and Mrs. Jonathan Hawkes, wife 
of Jonathan Hawkes, who kept the tavern in the house now stand- 
ing, and lately occupied by Mr. Tewksbury. [November 3. 1703, 
Joseph Floyd, with his wife Elizabeth, and Daniel Floyd were of 
Maiden; Hugh Floyd, with his wife Elenor, and John Floyd with 
his wife Rachel, were of Boston, that is, Rumney Marsh ; " John 



ISO HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

Hawks " and his wife Abigail were of Lynn. Presumably Jona- 
than Hawks, the innkeeper, belonged to a younger generation; 
his widow, also named Abigail, was living in 1782. Middlesex 
Deeds, L. 17, f. 272; Sutf. Deeds, L. 136, f. 166; Vital Records 
of Lynn.] He left by his will eight slaves, — Jack and Tom to 
his widow ; Dick, to Hugh ; " Caesar & Sarah & their youngest 
Child called James," to John; Harry, to Daniel; and Lydia to 
Mrs. Upham. [Captain John Floyd died intestate. May 22, 
1701, Sarah Floyd, widow, and Hugh Floyd, " eldest Son," of 
" John Floyd late of Rumney marsh . . . Yeoman " were ap- 
pointed to administer the estate. An " Agreement between the 
Widow & Children of Captain John Floyd deced, for a division of 
his Estate," signed March 25, 1701, was allowed by the court 
September 30. (Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 14, ft'. 311, 400.) According 
to the gravestone at Revere the widow, Sarah, died June 16, 1717, 
aged seventy-five.] Hugh and John bought of John Cogan's 
grandchildren all his real estate at Rumney Marsh by deeds dated 
April 8, 1700, February 15, 1703/4, and ^ April 19,^1709. [The 
conveyances were: — (1) Mary, granddaughter of John Cogan, 
and her husband Jacob Green, Jr., of Charlestown, to John Floyd, 
for £500, April 8, 1700 (Suff. Deeds, L. 21, f. 638). This was 
the first John Floyd, not the son. The deed was recorded July 
26, 1704. (2) Sarah Robinson, widow and administratrix of the 
estate of Joseph Robinson, grandson of John Cogan, to Hugh and 
John Floyd, for £560, Feb. 15, 1703/4 (L. 21, f. 532). In the 
inventory of Joseph Robinson in October, 1703, his share was 
valued at £300. Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 15, f. 206. The farm was 
spoken of as "now in the possession of the Floyds." (3) Three 
great-grandchildren of John Cogan, children of his grandson 
Thomas Robinson, and the widow Sarah Robinson, to Hugh Floyd, 
for £600, April 19, 1709; recorded July 18, 1712 (Suff. Deeds, 
L. 26, f. 198). The will of Thomas Robinson was probated in 
1700, and his share in the farm was valued at £300. (Prob. Rec, 
L. 14, ff. 196, 226.)] Hugh had the small farm, and his dwelling- 
house — still standing near Woodlawn cemetery — was the resi- 
dence of the late Oliver Pratt. [Hugh Floyd owned the little 
farm, and also a large part of the great farm, as the deeds from the 
heirs of Cogan, above cited, would lead us to expect. His son, 
Hugh, owned the little farm only. The farmhouse of Samuel 
Floyd stood on land owned by the elder Hugh Floyd, who by 
will or deed disposed also of marshland, of a part of Oak Island, 
and of the Point of Pines.] John had the large farm from 
the beach west. His dwelling-house was lately removed from 
Revere Street to Broadwav, at the edge of the Marsh. Huarh 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 9 , 181 

Floyd was of the Maiden church. [April 5, 173-i, Hugh Floyd 
and his wife transferred their church membership from Maiden 
to Eumney Marsh, j 

John Tuttle was the first signer of the Church covenant in 
1715. Then came John Floyd, Senr., Edward Tuttle, Senr., and 
Elisha Tuttle. After the lapse of one hundred seventy-two years, 
the families were represented in the Congregational Church at 
Eevere by Deacon Daniel Tuttle Fuller and Deacon David Floyd. 
(B. H. Dewing, in Kevere Journal, April 30, 1887.) 

[Children to Hugh and Ellinor Floyd were recorded in Boston 
in 1686 and later. He was constable in 1688 and 1709, surveyor 
in 1694j tithingman in 1705 and 1713, His will, signed August 
28, was probated December 21, 1730. The witnesses were Thomas 
Pratt, Simon Grover, and Thomas Wayte; the executors, Samuel 
and Hugh Floyd, his sons. As minute provision was made for the 
wife Elinour, as was made by Thomas Pratt and Thomas Cheever 
for their wives. In money she was to receive £25 yearly. Bequests 
were made to his daughters Sarah Layth and Elinour Lath, and 
the children of his deceased daughter Joanna Tuttle. His real 
estate was divided among his sons, — Samuel, Benjamin, and 
Hugh. His negro man Eichard was to serve each of the sons in 
turn a year and then receive his freedom. (Suff. Prob. Eec, L. 28, 
f. 342.) Joanna Floyd was married to Edward Tuthill by 
Eev. Cotton Mather, June 11, 1706; Sarah Floyd to Francis 
Death, Jr., by Eev. Thomas Cheever, March 25, 1713; Elinor 
Floyd to John Death, May 30, 1717; Benjamin Floyd was 
married to Sarah Eustice by Eev. Thomas Cheever, November 
28, 1726; Samuel Floyd, to Joannah Floyd, February 8, 1727/8; 
Hugh Floyd to Mary Baker of Lynn by Wm. Welsted, April 29, 
1729. 

The division of the Cogan farm between Hugh Floyd and his 
brother John was not placed on record. Hence the possessions 
of the former are known only through conveyances from him by 
deed and will. During his lifetime he sold several parcels of 
marsh on the " Ware Biver " and the " Pines Eiver." December 
13, 1714, he conveyed to William Basset, Jr., and John Basset of 
Lynn, for £90 current money of New England, title to twenty 
acres of " Salt Marsh and upland or pine Land " situated " at a 
place known by the Name of the Pines." It was bounded W. on 
salt marsh of John Floyd by a line running S. from the Pine 
Eiver 79 poles to " a Cedar Stake Standing in the Edge of 
the Salt Marsh with a Heap of Stones about it." Thence the 
line ran S.E. 51 poles " to a pine tree Marked, standing upon 
the pine Beach bank the Woodland of s*^ Hugh ffloid lying on 



182 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Cii.\p. VI 

tlie South ^VcStcrly side thereof." The hind conveyed was bounded 
" Southerly on y^ Bank of s*? pine Beach, and Easterly on the 
•Bay so call'd, & Northerly upon the pine Eiver so called." (Suflf. 
Deeds, L. 29, f. 28.) This appears to have been on the Point of 
Pines. 

Hugh Floyd, by will cited above, gave to his son Benjamin 
" Ten Acres of upland lying in Sanfords lott so Called Joyning 
unto that Twenty Acres I sold unto him," and sixteen acres of 
marsh. The following children of Benjamin and Sarah Floyd 
were recorded in Boston: Mary born Feb. 14, 1727/8; Sarah, 
Oct. 3, 1729; Benjamin, Aprir4, 1731; Ebenezer, April 2, 1732. 
All were baptized at Eumney Marsh. Two other children were 
baptized there, — Abigail, May 11, 1735; Elizateth, Sept. 10, 
1738. November 21, 1711, Samuel and Hugh Flo.vd of Chel- 
sea and Sarah Floyd of Medford, widow, administrators of 
the estate of Benjamin Floyd of Medford, Innholder, deceased, 
by order of the Probate Court for payment of debts, conveyed to 
Nathaniel Oliver, Jun'". of Chelsea for £1295 the real estate of the 
deceased in Chelsea, namely, thirty and one half acres of upland 
bounded east on Joseph Ingraham, Jr., west on said Hugh Floyd, 
north on said N. Oliver, Jr. (the great Keayne farm), and south 
on Paul Dudley, Esq. (the little Keayne farm), with the " Build- 
ings Orcharding " etc., on said upland ; also eight dcres of salt 
marsh. (Suff. Deeds, L. 75, f. 109.) The land of Joseph Ingra- 
ham had belonged originally to the Tuttle farm, being the north- 
western corner thereof. November 27, 1741, Nathaniel Oliver, 
Jr., conveyed to Hugh Floyd for £735, twenty acres with the 
same bounds except that the north boundary was the road, — that 
is, Nathaniel Oliver retained about ten and one half acres of the 
little Cogan farm, lying north of the road which led from the 
church at Kumney Marsh to Lynn. No mention was made of 
buildings; in 1746 the twenty .acres were denominated pasture 
land. (Suflf. Deeds, L. 63, f. 48; L. 79, f. 156.) 

January 13, 1725/6, Ensign Hugh Floyd and his wife Eleanor 
had conveyed to Hugh Floyd, Jr., twenty acres, bounded east and 
west by Ensign Floyd, north by Captain Oliver and south by Mr. 
Dudley's farm (L. 63, f. 131 ; recorded June 10, 1742). July 31, 
1730, same to same, twenty acres of iipland "being a part of the 
Lot of Land known by the Name of Sanford's Lott." This seems 
to have been the same land conveyed January 13, 1725/6, the 
deed for whicli had not been recorded. Tlio west boundary started 
at the point where a brook proceeded " out of M*" Dudley's farm." 
(L. 45, f. 21. Eccorded on the day on which the will of Hugh 
Floyd, Sr., was probated.) By will Hugh Floyd, Sr., gave the 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 9 183 

son Hugh, " all my Eemaining Land in Sanford Lott so Called 
with all the Buildings thereon not heretofore Disposed of also all 
my Medow beyond the Ditch which I have not heretofore Dis- 
posed of," and " One half part of my whole Eight in Oak Jsland 
so Called." November 27, 1741, as above stated, Hugh Floyd, 
second of the name, purchased twenty acres which had belonged 
to his brother Benjamin. June 10, 1742, Hugh Floyd mortgaged 
to James Smith of Boston for 375 ounces of coined silver 102 
acres " Consisting of Mowing Land Pasture Land and Tillage 
Land being all my Land in said Chelsea," with the buildings 
thereon. It was bounded south on Judge Dudley; east on Samuel 
Tuttle, the successor of Joseph Ingraham ; north on the town road 
and Capt. Nathaniel Oliver; and west on the Country Road 
from Winnisimmet to Lynn. This was the little Cogan farm 
less the ten and one half acres in the possession of N. Oliver, Jr. 
(Suff. Deeds, L. 63, f. 146; released October 11, 1750. Decem- 
ber 31, 1744, he mortgaged the same land to Paul Dudley; re- 
leased October 10, 1750. Ibid., L. 69, f. 176.) In 1746 Hugh 
Floyd was mentioned as lessee of the Dudley farm, which lay to the 
south. (Ibid., L. 79, f. 142.) 

March 25, 1746, Hugh Floyd and Iklary his wife, for £2000 old 
tenor, conveyed to Samuel Tuttle, Tanner, forty-two acres of 
pasture land bounded south on Judge Dudley's farm, west on said 
Floyd, north on the town road, and east on said Tuttle. This was 
stated to be twenty acres, formerly belonging to Benjamin Floyd, 
and the " stump pasture." (Ibid., L. 79, f. 156; recorded March 5, 
1750.) The land to the east, owned by Tuttle, was a part of the 
Edward Tuttle farm. (Infra, Appendix 11.) On the same day 
Samuel Tuttle and wife Anne conveyed for £1000 to Benjamin 
Tuttle, the western twenty-two acres thereof " enclosed with a 
stone wall." (Ibid., L. 79, f. 156 ; recorded March 5, 1750.) Feb- 
ruary 1, 1753, Benjamin Tuttle conveyed the above twenty-two 
acres to Nathan Cheever. (Ibid., L. 82, f. 21.) February 17, 
1761, Nathan Cheever conveyed the same to Samuel Sergeant, 
who had purchased the land to the west. On the east, the land 
was then bounded by land of Hugh Hall. (Ibid., L. 95, f. 
240.) 

December 26, 1749, Hugh Floyd with wife ]\rary conveyed to 
Nathaniel Oliver, Junr, of Chelsea, for £11,000 old tenor, sixty 
acres, the westerly portion of his farm, lying between the land 
sold to Samuel Tuttle, and the road from Winnisimmet to Lynn, 
with " one Mansion Out Kitchen, two bams, work house, Tan- 
house and Yard, with other Outhouses, Wood, Trees, Orchards, 
Fences, Cydermill and Press," etc., and eight acres, across the 



184 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

road, in Maiden " with one Dwelling house thereon, Orcharding," 
etc. The latter was a wedge-shaped piece of land with Thomas 
Wait south and Simon Grover northwest (L. 78, f. 218; acknowl- 
edged September 10, 1750; recorded September 11). August 13, 
1750, Nathaniel Oliver, Junr., conveyed the same for £1200 
"Lawful money of Xew England" to Samuel Sergeant (L. 78, 
f. 219. Acknowledged and recorded September 11, 1750), 
November 11, 1751, Samuel and Lois Sargeant mortgaged the 
abovesaid land to Lucy Dudley, widow of Paul Dudley. There 
was " one IMansion house, two Barns, Workhouse," etc., on the land 
in Chelsea; also eight acres in Maiden with a dwelling-house 
thereon (L. 80, f. 121; released in 1789, L. 166, f. 235. For an 
earlier mortgage to Paul Dudley, dated October 1, 1750, and re- 
leased in 1753, see L. 78, f. 280). In 1761, Samuel Sargeant 
bouglit, as above mentioned, twenty acres to the east and thus 
l^.is farm contained eighty acres in Chelsea and eight acres in 
Maiden. March 3, 1782, Captain Samuel Sargeant purchased of 
Jonathan AVilliams the western thirty-two acres of the Dudley 
farm, which adjoined his land to the south (L. 134, f. 214, see 
chapter xix.). In 1798 Samuel Sargeant was taxed for a farm 
of 110 acres; for four lots of salt-marsh and two lots of wood- 
land. The house covered 928 feet, was of two stories, had 24 win- 
dows, and, with a " shop " and " Chaise House " which covered 
560 feet, and one acre of land, was valued at $715. The barns 
were 40 X 30 and 31 X 16 feet; the corn barn 14 X 12 ; the 
tan house 40 X 24; the shed 30 X 10. One hundred and nine 
acres with the outhousing was valued at $1500. When Hopkins' 
Atlas was prepared Oliver Pratt owned this farm. 

The Inventory of " Hugh Floyd, late of Chelsea," taken Decem- 
ber 8, 1789, by Joshua Cheever and James Stowers shows no real 
estate in Chelsea. It footed £11: 5: 4. (Suff. Prob. Eec, L. 
88, f. 687.) March 6, 1760, Hugh Floyd was mentioned as a 
tenant on James Bowdoin's farm at Pullen Point (Chelsea Town 
Records). Hugh Floyd was born May 13, 1704 (Boston records), 
and died in September, 1789. (Church Eecords.) His children by 
his wife Mary, recorded at Chelsea, were: Mary, born 1730-5th 
day 3d month ; Elener, 1731-27-8 ; Hugh, 1732-2-2 ; Peter, 1734- 
6-6; Hannah, 1735-27-12; Susannah, 1737-26-11; William. 
1739-27-6 (baptized April 12, 1741) ; Stephen, 1741-1 7-[ ] 
(baptized Nov. 22, 1741) ; Andrew, 1743-17-10 [?] baptized 
Dec. 25, 1743.) 

As above shown, Samuel Tuttle bought forty-two acres of the 
Sanford lot from Hugh Floyd in 1746, and conveyed the western 
twenty-two acres thereof to Benjamin Tuttle. May 13, 1749, 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 9 185 

he conveyed the fifteen acres east of this for £300 to Nathaniel 
Oliver, Jr., who mortgaged it May 20, 1749, to Hugh Hall. 
(L. 77, f. 150.) July 28, 1774, Foster Hutchinson, as executor of 
the estate of Hugh Hall, conveyed the land to William Low, whose 
homestead was on the Hasey farm. (L. 126, f. 213.) William 
Low, by will probated April 10, 1787, divided this " Field called 
Hall's Hill " between his sons William and Samuel Low, and 
his daughter Mary Low. (Suff. Prob. Eec, L. 86, f. 171.) 
When the direct tax of 1798 was assessed, Samuel Low and 
" Polly " Low owned the field, which was under the improvement 
of William Pratt, tenant of Samuel Low on a farm near the 
meeting-house. (See m/ra, Appendix 12; also Suff. Deeds, L. 183, 
f. 20, Wm. and Elizabeth Low to Samuel Low.) May 13, 
1749, the land was described as measuring north seventy rods 
eighteen links on the road; west fifty-one rods eighteen links on 
the land of Benj. Tuttle; south sixty-two rods seven links on 
Paul Dudley; east twenty-eight rods seven links on Samuel Tuttle. 
(Suff. Deeds, L. 77, f. 149.) 

June 23, 1750, Samuel Tuttle conveyed to Samuel Floyd the 
remainder of the land in the Sanford Lot, that he had bought of 
Hugh Floyd, namely, the easternmost five and three fourths acres 
(Suff. Deeds, L. 81, f. 242; recorded January 12, 1753). Sep- 
tember 10, 1771, Samuel Floyd, husbandman, for £40 con- 
veyed this, then estimated as six acres of upland to his son Samuel 
Floyd, Junr, of Chelsea, husbandman. It was bounded north 
on the Town road ; northeast and east on lands of Phillips Payson ; 
south and southwest on lands of Captain Williams; west and 
northwest on " lands now occupied by William Low." There was 
no mention of a house on the land. (Suff. Deeds, L. 122, f. 143.) 
Samuel Floyd, Jr., was the son of Samuel and Joanna Floyd, and 
married April 20, 1779, Susanna Sargeant, daughter of John 
Sargeant of Pullen Point, where Floyd became possessed of lands 
in 1783. (Infra, Appendix 10.) April 8, 1783, Samuel Floyd and 
his wife Susanna conveyed these six acres to Jonathan Fuller. 
The description was the same except, — south and southwest on 
lands of Captain Samuel Clark; west and northwest on lands of 
William Low. (See L. 138, f. 25; L. 497, f. 166.) The land 
was taxed to Jonathan Fuller in 1798. Thus the land south 
of Maiden Street owned by D. T. Fuller and E. Kimball when 
Hopkins' Atlas was prepared, formed originally a part of the 
little Cogan farm. Their southern boundary' was the division 
line between the little Cogan and little Kea3^ne farms; their 
eastern bound, the division line between the little Cogan and the 
Tuttle farm. Presumably the northern line of the estates of D. T. 



1S6 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

and Chas. E. Fuller north of Maiden Street, represents the division 
line between the little Cogan and great Keayne farms. 

Hugh Floyd, first of the name, by will in 1730 gave to his son 
Samuel Floyd " my Pasture Land Adjoyning to the Twenty Acres 
which I lately sold him which lyeth next unto John Floyds Land 
with all the Buildings thereon," etc. ; " also all my Marsh Land 
Between the two ditches," subject to certain rights of way ; " also 
half my Marsh beyond the ditch Excepting the Sixteen Acres 
hereafter Given to my son Benjamin, also half my Land in Oak- 
Jsland," etc. ; all of this land had belonged to the Cogan great 
farm. Samuel Floyd, by deed acknowledged at Lynn May 2, 1734, 
conveyed to John Floyd, for £400 bills of credit, four parcels 
of land — (1) six acres of upland "part of the Jsland formerly 
known by the name of Coginses Jsland & more laterly Called 
Oak Jsland"; (2) six acres of marsh adjoining thereto, — the 
two being bounded by John Floyd on the south and southwest; 
(3) three acres of marsh with Jabez Sargeant on the west, John 
Floyd north and northeast, Edward Tuttle southwest; (4) ten 
acres of salt marsh bounded south and southeast on the beach, 
west by Th. Wait, and on all other sides by John Floyd. (Suff. 
Deeds," L. 61, f. 7; recorded October 15, 1740.) After this sale 
Samuel Floyd retained a homestead of about 125 acres in the 
southwestern portion of the Cogan great farm, north of the land 
later occupied by Phillips Payson (originally the Tuttle farm) 
and east of the Oliver (formerly the Keavne great) farm. (L. 70, 
f. 18; L. 91, f. 87; L. 118, ff. 220, 221. " See infra, Appendix 12; 
also chap, xxi.) September 9, 1740, Samuel Floyd, son of Hugh 
Floyd, with his wife Joanna mortgaged to the Manufactory Co. 
for £100, sixteen and one-half acres of upland with five acres of 
salt marsh adjoining thereto, — bounded west on land of Nath. 
Oliver, Jr., south and north on the land of Samuel Floyd by a 
ditch and wall, and northeast from a ditch to a ditch, by a ditch 
leading northwest toward the upland; apparently, therefore, part 
of the marsh-land between the ditches mentioned in his father's 
Avill. The northwest corner of the mortgaged estate seems to 
have touched the point where the land of Nathaniel Oliver, Jr., 
joined the marsh of Paul Dudley. (L. 60, f. 45; infra, chap, 
xix. ) The children of Samuel and Joanna Floyd as recorded 
at Chelsea were: Tabatha, born 1729-the 4th day 4th montli ; 
Joanna, 1731-6-12; Samuel, 1733-6-12; Noah, 1735-26-6; 
Joseph, 1737-27-1; Rachel, 1739-30-10; Nathanael, 1741-11-4; 
David, 1742-20-10 [?] (baptized Nov. 21, 1742); Nathan, 
1744-16-1; Benjamin, 1746-3-3. All were baptized at Rum- 
ney Marsh as was also, June 25, 1738, a son Ezra, whose name 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 9 187 

does not appear on the town records. Presumably he died before 
the family genealogy was entered there. 

June 21, 1759, Eev. Nathaniel Henchman of Lynn obtained 
possession, by writ of execution against Samuel Floyd, of a seven- 
acre " Field on the Westerly side of the Lane that leads up to 
the North side of the said Samuel's Dwelling house"; and also 
of thirty-three acres of " Upland Tillage and Pasture land " 
bounded east on land " now or late of John Floyd " ; north and 
west on land "now or late of Samuel Floyd"; south "partly on 
a small Field adjoining to Land of John Floyd," partly on the 
above seven-acre field, and partly on land late of Daniel Tuttle; 
west, partly on the seven-acre field. (Suflf. Deeds, L. 93, f. 95.) 
This land passed from the estate of Kathaniel Henchman to 
Dr. Humphrey Devereaux and his wife, of Marblehead, she being 
a daughter of Eev. jSTathaniel Henchman. (Suff. Deeds, L. 102, 
ff. 208, 209, etc.) May 28, 1764, Samuel Floyd conveyed to 
Thomas Pratt for £53 6s. Sd., twenty acres of upland and marsh. 
This land was bounded on the west by the Oliver farm, then 
o^\^led by Hon. Thomas Flucker and Mr. Pitts, and by the marsh 
of Joseph Dudley; on the north and east by creeks, ditches and 
marsh land; and on the southeast by the above mentioned land 
of Henchman, and marsh of Samuel Floyd to " the road that leads 
to the Beach"; south on said Floyd. (L. 104, f. 11.) Pratt con- 
veyed this, March 29, 1765, to Lydia Henchman of Marblehead, 
widow of Eev. Nathaniel Henchman. (L. 104, f. 76. See also 
L. 86, f. 184.) June 24, 1766, Samuel Floyd with his wife 
Joanna conveyed to Lydia Henchman, widow, of Marblehead, for 
£333 6s. 8d., twelve acres of " Tillage land and orcharding . . . 
with the dwelling house which I now Inhabit and the barn standing 
on part of the same land." This was bounded east on John Floyd ; 
north and west on Dr. Devereaux and said Lydia Henchman ; south 
on Samuel Sprague. The land of Samuel Sprague had formerly 
been the farm of Daniel Tuttle, and when Hopkins' Atlas was 
prepared belonged to H. F. Cooledge. Floyd also conveyed, by the 
same deed, fifteen acres in the dammed marsh, John Floyd owning 
marsh to the north; thirty acres of salt marsh lying to the north 
of upland belonging to Dr. Devereaux and Lydia Henchman ; 
eight acres of pasture, bounded west on the Oliver farm (Pitts and 
Flucker), south on Phillips Payson, north and east on said 
Henchman and Dr. Devereaux. (L. 108, f. 266; see also L. 93, 
f. 169; L. 108, f. 265; L. 104, f. 238.) 

Thus about 125 acres of the farm of Samuel Floyd, son of 
Hugh Floyd and grandson of Captain John Floyd, passed to 
Nathaniel and Lvdia Henchman, and their son-in-law Dr. Dev- 



188 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

ereaux, and thence to Samuel Sewall of Marblehead and his wife 
Abigail, daughter of Dr. Humphrey Devereaux. In 1798 Hugh 
Floyd was tenant and Samuel Sewall was owner of the farm, 
which was taxed as containing one hundred and ten aares ($1T66). 
The house covered 720 feet, was of two stories, had 15 windows, 
was "Verry Old," and with one-half an acre of land was valued at 
$275. The barn was 50 X 30. December 30, 1802, Samuel Sewall 
and his wife Abigail mortgaged the farm for $2000. It then 
contained I2314 acres of " Upland Orcharding and Salt Marsh " 
with a dwelling-house and barn and was described as being in the 
occupation of David Floyd; also, 15 acres adjoining the south 
corner of the farm in the dammed marsh and 7 acres of salt marsh 
to the N. of the farm, — the latter being apparently marsh 
bought of Isaac Chittenden, and sold later to Rev. Joseph Tucker- 
man. (L. 203, f. 269; L. 217, f. 289.) Possibly the tenant of 
1798 was the son of Hugh and Mary Floyd of the little Cogan 
farm, born February 2, 1731/2, married Rachel Floyd May 10, 
1759, and had a son David born 1767-7th day-6th month. 
Nine children of Hugh and Rachel Floyd, born between 1760 
and 1780, are recorded at Chelsea. Hugh Floyd died in August, 
1800. 

March 23, 1807, Samuel Sewall, Esq., of Marblehead, and his 
wife Abigail, for $1550 conveyed to David Floyd of Chelsea, hus- 
bandman, 26 acres of upland and marsh on the westerly side of the 
Salem turnpike, — the land, it is stated, having been " heretofore 
in occupation of said Floyd." This was bounded S.W. on land 
" now or late " of the heirs of Rev. Phillips Payson from said 
road to land of Nathaniel Hall ; N. W. on said Hall and Moses 
Collins to the marsh now or late of Naylor Hatch; N.E. said 
Hatch and marsh lately conveyed by us to Rev. Joseph Tucker- 
man, to Daniel Pratt's marsh; S.E. and N.E. on said Pratt 
to the Turnpike. May 1, 1848, David Floyd and his wife Hannah 
conveyed to David Floyd, Jr., for $2500, thirty-one acres, it being 
land conveyed to him as above by Samuel Sewall in 1807, and by 
Daniel Pratt April 29, 1830. Its N.W. bound was a line 147 
rods 16 links long from the Phillips Payson, later the B. H. 
Dewing, estate to a creek, bounding on land of Nathaniel Hall and 
Moses Collins (SufP. Deeds, L. 219, f. 265; L. 345, f. 285; L. 590, 
f. 290). The land of Nathaniel Hall was upland of the great 
Keayne farm; the land of Collins was salt-marsh of the great 
Keayne farm given in 1702, with the small Keayne farm, to Paul 
Dudley. (See chaps, xix. and xxi.) Thus this deed, in giving the 
western bound of David Floyd's farm, gives the parting line 
between the great Cogan and the great Keayne farms. The line 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 9 189 

can be clearly traced on Hoijkins' Atlas. It extends north from 
the northwest corner of the B. H. Dewing estate to the Pines 
Eiver. The north boundary of B. H. Dewing, west of Broadway, 
formed the southern boundary of the great Cogan farm. AH the 
land pictured on Plate R., vol. iv., Hopkins' Atlas, belonged to the 
great Cogan farm except a narrow strip west of H. P. Cooledge. 

The balance of the Sewall farm, formerly that of Samuel Floyd, 
that is, the land lying East of the turnpike, remained in the 
possession of Samuel Sewall and his wife Abigail, and passed to 
their heirs. A plot of the land according to survey of May 10, 
1852, with the position of the farm buildings marked thereon, 
may be seen in Suff. Deeds, L. 636, f. 303. There were 60 acres 
of upland and 40 acres of salt-marsh. (See also L. 585, f. 113; 
L. 642, ff. 29-33, etc.) 

John Floyd, son of Captain John Floyd who died in 1701, 
lived on the southeastern portion of the great Cogan farm. 
Two children were recorded at Maiden: John, born Aug. 19, 
1687, and Eachel, born Dec. 25, 1690. Later, as a resident of 
Eumney Marsh, he was active politically and often in office. 
Starting as fence viewer in 1697 (also in 1705, 1708, 1712), 
he was surveyor in 1699 and 1706; representative of the dis- 
trict of Eumney Marsh on the Boston board of assessors in 1716, 
1717, 1720, and 1723. In the second volume of Town Papers, 
in the Office of the Registry of Births, etc., in the old Court 
House in Boston, are two interesting letters, dated September 12 
and December 2, 1719, from Joshua Bill to the Treasurer of 
Boston, in w^hich he complains bitterly of having been chosen 
constable, attributing it to John Floyd, the assessor, whom he 
calls the " Lord Euler att Winisimit att that time." John 
Floyd was one of the founders of the Eumney Marsh church in 
1715. According to the tombstone at Eevere, Lieutenant Floyd 
died January 7, 1723/4 in the 58th year of his age. According to 
the Vital Records of Lynn he was born Feb. 20, 1664/5, and 
hence died in the 59th year of his age. His will, dated September 
27, 1723, was probated February 24, 1723/4. The witnesses were 
Daniel Floyd, John and Jacob Chamberlain, Jacob Hasey. To 
his wife Eachel he allotted two rooms in the west end of his 
dwelling with cellar room, all his household goods, and an annuity 
of £10 in money. He made a similarly minute provision for sup- 
plying her with the necessaries of life, and for the use of a horse, 
that his brother Hugh Floyd, Thomas Pratt, Thomas Cheever, 
and others made for their wives. The negro boy Jack was to serve 
her for life; then to revert to his son, John. 

To his son, John Floyd, he gave his '* Dwelling House & Barn 



190 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Cuap. VI 

and all my outhousing and all my Lands both Upland & Salt 
Marsh, all within the Bounds of -Boston I give it all to him and his 
heirs forever," subject to the widow's rights an^ the payment of 
the legacies. He gave to his daughter Kachel Pratt £100 and the 
negro man, Caesar; to daughter Abigail Tuttle £100 and the negro 
woman, Sarah; to Joanna Floyd £70 at time of her marriage, and 
£100 more within four years of his decease; to his grandsons, 
James and John NicoUs, £50 eacTi when they attained their 
majority; to the "Church of Christ in Rumney Marsh," £10 (Suff. 
Prob. llec, L. 23, f. 122). Pachel Floyd was married to Ebenezer 
Pratt, March 29, 1711; Abigail Floyd, to Samuel Tuttle, Decem- 
ber 3, 1713; Tabitha Floyd to James Nicholls, July 9, 1719; 
Joanna Floyd to Samuel Floyd, February 8, 1727/8. 

John Floyd, son of John and Rachel -Floyd, was born in Maiden, 
August 19, 1687, and married Mary Tuttle May 27, 1712. He 
lived for twelve years on the Sale farm, — presumably from his 
marriage in 1712 until his father's death in 1724. Record is 
found of the following children: John, baptized April 1, 1716; 
John, baptized July 13, 1718; Mary, baptized April 16, 1721; 
Jacob, baptized July 15, 1722/ died in March, 1775, aged 53; 
Mary, baptized April 5, 1724; Sarah, born 1726-23d day-llth 
month, and baptized Nov. 27, 1726; James, born 1729-30th 
day-lOth month, and baptized Nov. 2, 1729. His wife Mary 
died, according to the tombstone in Revere, June 18, 1732, 
in the thirty-ninth year of her age. He died in November, 
1775. 

The will of John Floyd of Chelsea, husbandman, dated April 
26, 1773, was probated February 6, 1776. The witnesses were 
Benj. Tuttle, Samuel Floyd, Jr., and Nathan Floyd. To his son 
James Floyd, whom he appointed his executor, he gave all his 
estate, both real and personal, subject to the pa}anent of the 
following legacies: To his daughter Rachel, wife of Samuel 
Sprague, £10; to his daughter Sarah, wife of Deacon Sale, £10; 
to his grandchildren Richard Floyd and his sister, children of 
his son John, deceased, £5 each, — no more because of " the large 
sums I gave to and paid for their father." To his wife Hannah 
he gave 20 sh. and her right of dower according to law. (August 
24, 1763, John Floyd married the widow Hannah Bill, who died 
before her husband, in September, 17J5.) To Jacob Floyd he gave 
405. a year for life, and the right to live in the house and to 
have "all the necessaries and comforts of life, with decent Cloth- 
ing for labour and to attend the public Worship of God, shall 
have meat, drink. Washing and lodging, his Taxes all paid and if 
sick his Nurses & Doctors shall be paid all out of my estate " etc. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 9 191 

To the wife of his son James he gave a silver tankard. (Suff. 
Prob. Eec, L. 75, f. 8.) 

The children of James and Hannah Floyd as recorded at Chel- 
sea were: Hannah, born 1758-30th day-3d month; John, born 
1760^9-3, died 1768-31-3; James, born 1762-17-3; Jacob, 
1764-22-6; died July 30, 1819 aged 85; Charlotte, born 1766- 
6-[9?]; baptized Oct. 5, 1766; Mary, 1769-31-7; Jolm born 
1772-15-11, died 1818-13-4. 

The will of James Floyd of Chelsea, dated June 27, 1793, was 
probated Xovember 30, 1822, by his son James Floyd, executor. 
To his wife Hannah he allotted the west room and chamber and 
as much of the kitchen and cellar as she needed, etc. To his son 
James Floyd he gave one third of his lands, all of his farming 
utensils and cattle and the east end of his dwelling and barn until 
the death of his wife ; then the housing was to be divided between 
his three sons. To Jacob and John he gave each one third of his 
lands and a living in the house ; to his daughter Hannah Butman, 
a living in the house " so long as she continued to be deserted by 
her husband " and £60 ; to daughters Mary and Charlotte Floyd, 
£60 each and a living in the house till their marriage. November 
30, 1822, Uriah Oakes, Hannah Butman, Mary Floyd, Jacob 
Floyd, and James Floyd shared the personal property. 

In 1798 James Floyd was taxed for a farm of 71 acres, bounded 
S. by AVilliam Harris (Tuttle farm) ; W. by Samuel Sewall; IST. 
by Thomas Hill and others (mar.shland) ; E. by the Beach; also 
23 acres of woodland in the "Pan-handle"; 23 acres in the 
dammed marsh; and 20 acres of saltmarsh in the home farm, 
with the Beach to the east. The house covered 1350 feet, was of 
2 stories, had 19 windows, was " Old " ; with a one-story " AVood 
and Chaise House" that covered 361 feet, and an acre of land, 
it was valued at $660. The site of this house can be seen on the 
survey made for the Eastern Railroad in 1836. According to 
the inventory taken December 10, 1822, James Floyd possessed 
at the time of his death 66 acres of upland, which with the build- 
ings thereon were valued at $3,960; 22 acres of saltmarsh; 28 
acres of " Dyke marsh "; 47 acres of woodland; in all 163 acres. 
(Suff. Prob.'^Eec, L. 120 \ fl. 401, 431 ; L 121 2, f. 288.) July 3, 
1787, James Floyd, Jr., married at Chelsea Eunice Boardman, 
daughter of Aaron Boardman of " Chelsea Pan-handle." (Suff. 
Deeds, L. 218, f. 72.) He died in 1851. For the division of his 
estate between his sons, George W. Floyd and John Floyd, see 
Suff. Deeds, L. 621, ff. 27, 28. The line of demarcation there 
drawn can be identified on Hopkins' Atlas (1874, vol. iv. Plate E) 
as the east line of the lands marked "Worcester." This land, 



192 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

now crossed by the Eastern R. R. and Revere Street, was the home- 
stead. Presumably Revere Street marks the cartway to the beach 
mentioned in the deeds of Samuel Floyd and his assignees; the 
beach northerly from Beach Street was known in early days as 
the beach leading to John Floyd's house.] 



p 




16^0. 




Map of Winthrop 

By Flovd AKoTi cker 



Showikq tme Bill «ni WityrwRop 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 10 193 



APPENDIX 10 

January 4, 1657/8, Gibbons' administrators sold for £200 to 
James Bill " one Tennement or farme house w*"^ one hundred and 
ninety acres of land more or lesse being in a place called . , . 
Pullin Pointe " together with all his lands " lying at a place 
Called ... by the name of Hogg Island being part meadow and 
part vpland." (Suff. Deeds, L. 3, f. 92.) [In the inventory of 
Gibbons' estate taken December 30, 1654, " y*^ farme house & 4 
acres of Land at hog Island " were valued at £50. Other items 
at the farms were 2 oxen, 6 steers, 7 cows and heifers, a mare, a 
colt, a calf, 25 hogs and pigs, 7 ewes and a ram, 9 cocks and hens, 
farming implements, 2 guns, pewter dishes, etc., " Come in y® 
barne unthreshed," a bed and its furnishings " in the porch 
Chamber"; barley, peas, etc. "in the Chamber," a bed and its 
furnishings " at James Bills house," and another " at John 
Brownes." (Suff. Prob. Eec, L. 2, f. 147.) This shows that 
James Bill was a resident of Pullen Point in 1654, notwithstand- 
ing his sale to Bernard Engles in 1645.] For the continuation 
of Gibbons' allotment in James Bill, and additions to it, I am 
indebted to David Floyd, Esq., of Winthrop, and especially for a 
copy of a plan of the Bill estates in that town October 21, 1690, 
by William Johnson, surveyor, the original of which, — last 
known in the possession of the late John W. Thornton, — cannot 
now be found. But a tracing of it by Judge Edwin Wright, a 
most accurate conveyancer, has been preserved, and a copy of this 
with its projection on a modern plan of the town, as I have said, 
has been given me by Mr. Floyd ; both are here presented. I am 
also indebted to Mr. Floyd for copies of The Visitor, — published 
in Winthrop, August 23,"'l895, March 27 and May 1, 1896, — con- 
taining valuable historical papers, upon which I have drawn witli 
confidence and without verification, as I understand they are based 
upon examinations of titles by experts. 

James, son of John and Dorothy Bill, was bom in England, in 
1615, and with his parents came to Massachusetts before 1635. 
His wife Mary was born in England in 1613. He bought an 
estate in Boston, on or near Sudbury Street, as early as 1639. 

VOL. I. — 13 



194 fflSTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

[Boston Town Records, Jan. 27, 1639/40; also Jan. 21, 1638/9.] 
He appears to have been part owner of Spectacle Island, and, in 
1645, to have sold land at Pullen Point. [Suff. Deeds, L. 5, 
ff. 45, 46.] He worshipped in the Mather church, and died Feb- 
ruary 1 (one account says, August 9), 1687/8. He was buried on 
Copp's Hill, where his gravestone still stands. [As deciphered 
thereon, the date of his death was February 1, 1687/8. His will, 
dated January 31, 1687/8, was probated February 22 of the same 
year. His wife Mary died August 29, 1688.] He and Deane 
Winthrop (whose farm in 1690 included Point Shirley, Great 
Head, and the beaches) at one time owned nearly all of Winthrop. 
It is thought that he lived in the Gibbons house, though one, if 
not all his three sons, lived in the old Bill house now standing 
on Beal Street. In the next century [the Gibbons house was] 
owned and occupied by Deacon John Chamberlain, a man of con- 
siderable importance, and after his death in 1753, by his widow. 
[The house on Beal street] is now owned by Mrs. Hanley. A 
second [the Gibbons] house stood in the vicinity of Thornton 
Station, and a third, near Johnson Avenue. It is not certain 
which of these houses was occupied by James Bill ; their locations 
are shown on Johnson's Plan. 

The estate at Winthrop was divided among James Bill's three 
sons. (Suff. Deeds, L. 16, f. 59.) To James was set off the land 
extending easterly from Cottage Park, including the Washington 
Avenue section. He died in 1718, and by will gave his property, 
subject to his wife's life interest, to his daughters Mehetable Bill 
and Rebecca Saunders, who married John Tenney. Mehetable, his 
wudow, Thomas Selby and his wife Mehetable, and North Ingham 
and his wife Abigail (a daughter of James Bill), sold their interest 
to John Tenney and his wife. (L. 37, f. 17.) They sold to John 
Chamberlain (Suff. Deeds, L. 40, f. 195 [103 acres, October 26, 
1726]), who died in 1753, leaving [as his heirs] a widow, Mar\% 
and [his daughters] Susanna Sargent, Sarah Hallowell, Abigail 
Eustice, Hannah Burnap, and [the children of] Mar\' Hasey 
[deceased]. In 1758, two thirds of the real estate were set off 
to John Sargent ; and on the death of John Chamberlain's widow 
the other third was set off in 1783 to Samuel Floyd, who married 
Susanna, daughter of John Sargent. John Sargent thus acquired 
sixty-seven acres on the easterly side of the Chamberlain farm, 
and Samuel Floyd the westerly part [including] sixteen acres 
[of upland]. John Sargent died January 12, 1776, leaving a 
widow, Susanna, and children, William, who died unmarried, 
Elisabeth, who married David Belcher, Susanna, who married 
Samuel Floyd, and Mary, who married James Tewksbury. [By 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 10 195 

deed of release 'from Mary and Elizabeth, and deed of sale from 
Elizabeth, Samuel Floyd became owner of about 32 acres, James 
Tewksbury holding about 13 acres. (Suff. Deeds, L. 189, f. 190; 
L. 195, ff. 1, 2.)] By will probated February 11, 1805, Samuel 
Floyd gave his real estate to his wife, Susanna, for life, and after 
her death, one half to his son Samuel (2), and the other half 
to his daughters, Susanna, who married Henry Tewksbury, and 
Hannah B., who married Washington Tewksbury [son of James 
and Mary Tewksbury mentioned above]. These three children 
were heirs of their mother Susanna, who died in 1830. Samuel 
(2) Floyd died February 16, 1829, leaving children, Josiah, Samuel 
(3), Sally Ann, [Emeline], and Susanna S. In Lib. 357, f. 299 
(and see L. 616, f. 250), is a [division of the farm], by order of 
court, [between] the children of Samuel (2) Floyd and Henry 
Tewksbury and his wife, Susanna, in her right, Washington Tewks- 
bury and Hannah, his wife, in her right. [See in Suff. Deeds, 
L. 619, f. 279, a plan of the lands of Samuel (2) Floyd as divided 
among his children. The house located on this plan was then 
(1850) owned by Josiah Flo^^d and Washington Tewksbury.] 
May 31, 1841, Henry Tewksbury quitclaimed to Washington 
Tewksbury [the southerly part of] the easterly portion of this 
farm, and the same day Washington Tewksbury quitclaimed to 
Henry Tewksbury another portion (see also L. 1040, f. 34). 
Samuel (3) Floyd, quitclaimed to Josiah Floyd all the real estate 
inherited from his father. (L. 559, 1 52.) April 1, 1850, the 
children of Samuel (2) Floyd, quitclaimed their interest in a part 
of the farm to Washington and Henry Tewksbury. (L. 616, 
f. 250.) Henry died intestate in 1853, leaving a widow, Susanna, 
and children Susanna, Henry (2), and Eliza. Eliza married 
Josiah Floyd and died intestate, leaving Samuel (4) and Eliza F. 
who married Benjamin D. Chapman. 

About 1855, Susanna, widow of Henry Tewksbury, senior, died 
[giving her lands to] Susanna (2) and Henry (2), [and legacies 
to the children of] Eliza, mentioned above. In 1856 Washington 
Tewksbury died, and later Susanna, her share passing to her 
brother Henry and the children of her sister, Eliza Floyd. In 
1866, Hannah B., widow of Washington Tewksbury, died, leaving 
children Lorenzo C, George W., Samuel H., Hannah B., wife of 
Thomas J. Belcher, and Sally, wife of David Floyd. In March, 
1871, the heirs of [Washington and Henry Tewksbury] released to 
each other all the land described in the partitions above referred to. 
(L. 1040, f. 34.) In January, 1873, Henry Tewksbury sold to 
J. Wingate Thornton, the land now known as Thornton Park, 
and the land owned exclusively in 1867 by the heirs of Washington 



196 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

and Hannah Tewksbnrv, now belongs to many people whose houses 
are on Washington Avenue, Elmwood and Lewis Avenues, and 
Eiver Road. 

The ^^"dl of James Bill, Sen^ 

In the Name of God Amen I James Bill Sen' of Pudden Point 
within the Precincts of Boston in Xew England yeoman Being 
weake in body But sound in my Vnderstanding and memory And 
being Conscious of my Mortallity Itt being appointed for all men 
once to Dye And being willing to sett my house in Order before 
my Decease have and hereby Doe Constitute Ordaine and make this 
to bee my Last will and Testament ; Nulling and revoakeing all 
other wills by me formerly made of what kind soever In manner 
following Impris I Commiti. my Soule into the hands of God 
my Creator hoj)eing & beleiveing to Obtaine the Pardon of all my 
Sinns and the Acceptance of my person vnto Eternall Life through 
the alone Merritts and Mediation of my Onely Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ And my body to the Grave Descently to be Interred 
att the Charge and according to the Descretion of my Exec's here- 
inafter named And as for what worldly Estate God of his good- 
nesse hath Lent vnto mee and bestowed vpon mee my minde and 
will is that it should be disposed of as followeth First I give and 
bequeath vnto my Three Sonns James Bill Junr Jonathan Bill 
and Joseph Bill All that farme w^^ I bought of SamV Burnell 
Eyeing and next adjoyning to ]\P Deane Winthrops farme Item 
I give and bequeath vnto my Said Three Sonn's James Jonathan 
and Joseph all that peece or percell of Land Eyeing att the North 
end of Boston and is Scituate att the Southerly Side of ]\P William 
Dorces his Dwelling house the w*^.'^ farme and peece of Land are 
equally to be Divided among my Said Three Sonns Item I give 
and bequeath vnto my Said Three Sonns All that my halfe part 
of my Sloope called Triall Burthen Thirty and five Tunns or 
thereabouts with all the appurtenances therevnto belonging equally 
to be Divided betweene them Alsoe I give vnto my said three 
Sonnes my two Negroes James and Jack equally to be Divided 
amongst them Item I give and bequeath vnto my Daughter Mary 
Smith as a token of my Love the suiTie of ffourty pounds In money 
to be paid vnto her within Three yeares next after my Decease 
by my Executor's And the reason wliy I give her noe more now is 
because I have given Largely to her already. Item I give and 
bequeath vnto my Daughter Hannah Kent as a token of my Love 
Twenty shillings in money to be paid her w^'^in two ^loneths next 
after my Decease by my said Executo'"s I haveing given her formerly 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 10 197 

very Considerably Item I give vnto my Daughter Sarah Chivers 
the SuiTie of One Hundred pounds in money to be paid vnto her 
by my Executor's w*Hn Three yeares next after my Decease and 
is to bee at her Sole Disposall thereof. And as for all other of 
my estate whether itt be in Bonds Bills Householdstuffe Debts 
goods or any other kind whatsoever I give and bequeath the same 
vnto my said Three Sonns James Bill Jonathan Bill and Joseph 
Bill equally to be divided betweene them whome I Doe make 
and Constitute to be the Executor's of this my Last will and Testa- 
ment And in Testimony that this is my Last will I have herevnto 
Sett my hand and Soale the Last day of January Anno Dni 1687 
Anno^ TiRs Jas Secdi Angl &c tertio 1687 Signed by |i the 
nuirke of James Bill w*'^ his Seale and Signed Sealed and De- 
clared by James Bill Sen? to be his Last will & Testam?^ In the 
p''sence of vs Deane Winthrop John Henery Burchstead & by R 
the marke of Eobin Eannells./ 

By Jiis Excellency 

The within written Deane Winthrop John Henery Burchstead 
& Eobert Eannells wittnesses to the within will psonally appeared 
before me and made Oath that they Saw the within named James 
Bill Sen: Signe & Seale & heard him declare the same as his last 
will & Testament And that when bee did y® same bee was of sound 
minde & vndr'standing to the best of their pceiveing. Sworne y® 
g: frebi-y . 1687 [1688] Before Me . E Andros. 
John West D. Scci-y (Suff. Prob. Eec, L. 10, f. 229. The 

will is in Files No." 1620.) 

An Inventaey of the estate Reall and psonall of James Bill Late 
OF PuLLEN Point Deceased 

Wearing Cloathes 15li : Two Negros 401i £55 : — 

A Parcell of Land Lyeing att Pullen point . 140 : — 

House Lott att Boston SOU halfe the Sloope & a Boate 391i 119 : — 

Two Barrells of Beefe 54s 2 : 14 

Grayne Indian Corne Barley & Rye 36 : 18 : 4 

Debts Oweing to the estate Desperate 66 : 14 



420 : -6 



4- 



Apprized by vs whose names are vnder written Deane 
Winthrop by "^ the marke of Aron Waye W"^ Ireland, 
ffebr-y . 22*1^: 1687 

James Bill Jonathan Bill and Joseph Bill Exec^'s: to the estate 
of James Bill their father Deced Exhibited the above Inventary 



198 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

Av*^*^ Containes a true & Just account of all the estate of the said 
Deceased that they know off or is come to their hands. Wittnesse 
our hands &.c°- James Bill Jonathan Bill and Joseph Bill. 

(Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 10, f. 232.) 

[In addition to the conveyance from the administrators of the 
estate of Edward Gibbons mentioned above, James Bill and his 
sons recorded in the Suffolk liegistry of Deeds the following con- 
veyances ; the bounds are of interest as giving clues to early owners 
and residents. 

Harlakenden Simons of Gloucester, gentleman, and his wife 
Elizabeth, for £122 to James Bill, January 16, 1664/5, " all that 
theire fi'arme house at Pulling point " and seventy acres bounded 
" w*'^ y^ Lands of Cap* Edward Hutchinson Southwardly, The 
other side with y^ Lands sometimes John Ollivers now deceased 
Northerly & in part East, one end butts vpon the Lands of Deane 
Winthrop, in part Jiast & in part North a little Crecke goeing 
out of fisher Creeke so Called running betweene, also bounded with 
y® Land formerly William Burnells Northerly, with a Cove west, 
& with a Creeke running out of Said Cove west & by North," it 
being the farm of Wentworth Day " sometimes " of said Boston, 
deceased, father of the said Elizabeth. (Suff. Deeds, L. 4, f. 261.) 
Presumably this farm contained the allotments of William Bren- 
ton and William Stitson, less land sold to James Bill before 1645, 
and, possibly, to Edward Hutchinson. September 22, 1640, Mr. 
Wentworth Day, a single man, was admitted to the Boston church. 
September 26, 1641, his daughter Elizabeth, eight days old, was 
baptized, and August 13, 1643, a son Wentworth, aged about six 
days. His wife Elizabeth was the daughter of the widow Story 
who married (2) Eev. John Cotton, and (3) Richard Mather. 
According to Savage, Day was a surgeon, saved a Cambridge 
patient from the charge of witchcraft in 1652, and was living in 
London in 1661. Harlakenden Symonds was a son of Samuel 
Symonds, Deputy-Governor 1673-78. 

June 2, 1666, Edward Jackson of Cambridge, and his wife Eliz- 
abeth (widow and executrix of the estate of John Oliver of Boston, 
gentleman, deceased), for £330, conveyed to James Bill "All tliat 
their Messuage, Tenement or ffarme Situate and Being at pulling 
point aforesaid, late in the occupation of the aforenamed John 
Oliucr, or his assignes, now in the tenure & occupation of the s** 
James Bill. And all Edifices, Buildings, Barn^ houses . . . which 
s*^ ffarm & its Vpland & meadow is Bounded with the Land of 
AV"^ Burnell Deceased Easterly & with the Marsh of Edward 
Huchinson North & By East, & with the Land of the s^ James 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 10 199 

Bill, fformerly the Land of Wentwoortli Day West, & South, & 
with the Creek Coiuing out of the Coue northerly." (Suff. Deeds, 
L. 5, ff. 43, 44.) John Oliver died in 1646, but his estate was 
not settled until 1663. (Suff. Prob. Rec., L. 4, f. 140.) From 
the inventory of his estate taken in 1646 (Prob. Files, 60) it would 
appear that he resided sometimes at Pullen Point. For his service 
as a preacher there, see infra, chap. xxvi. 

A TRUE iNtTENTOBY OF SUCH GoOD & CHATTELLS AS JOHN OlIUEB LEFT 
AND WAS PRISED THIS 23ttl OF 2 MO : 1646 BY JaMES PeNN AND 

Nathanell Williams. 

Imprimus six Cowes a 51 p cow 030 - 00 - 00 

It tow Oxen : 141 : & to\v 121 026-00-00 

It one stocke of bees 001-10-00 

It tow ketles 2 skilletts or possnets 001-09-00 

It tow Iron Pottes & a small kettill 000-18-00 

It a Spitt tonnged fire Pann 2 tramells 000—10-00 

It in Pewter seuen platters 2 baisons 001-08-00 

It six Porengers 4s a salt 3s a flagon & a pott 5s a candle- 

sticke & a halfe Pint Pott & a small cup 4s tow tinn 

Panns 2s tow small dishes 2s 001-00-00 

It a siluer boule or cup & a siluer spoune 03-00-00 

It a warmeing Pan Os : Sf a brass morter & Pestle 2s : gd 00-09-04 

It : A feather Bed & boulster 03-00-00 

It A Rudge and a paire of blankets 02-00-00 

It 3 Pillowes 15s & a still 16s 01-11-00 

It 3 paire of sheetes 02-05-00 

It a paire of Pillow beares 00-16-00 

It a dosen of nap kines & a board cloath 01-04-00 

It in the seruants Beding 02-00-00 

It in a forme A table 3 stooles & a clieare a bedsted table & 

chest , 01-04-00 

It in 3 Cushings & tow wheeles 00-12-00 

It the farme containeing eaighty Acers: 30 marsh 16 tilage 

with a dwelling house & Oarchard 100-00-00 

It the barne built since 020-00-00 

It for a carte & chaines & plows & other tackling 04-00-00 

It by a cuber[blot] 00-04-00 

It a paire of land Irons 00-06-00 

Sum in total : is : 205 : 6:4. 

James : Penn : 
Nathanell Williams 

The inventory appears to be in the handwriting of Williams 
with the autograph signature of Penn, who owned the farm across 
the creek in what is now Beachmont. 

February 28, 1671/2, James Bill to his four sons, James,^Jona- 



200 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

than, Joseph, and Joshua Bill, " cheefely in respect of my deare 
Affection & Lone," and also in consideration of £300 to be paid 
liimself if he demanded it, and £100 to be paid his wife after 
his decease, " his farme & farme houses," bounded with " the Land 
of Cap*^. Edward Hutchirson toward's the South in part & a great 
Coue towards the South & East & a creeke called ffishers creeke 
towards the East running Northward, & a Little creeke running 
out of that s**. ffisher's creeke still Northward & by Land of M'". 
Dane Wintrop still Northward & by the Lands of Sam. Burnells 
towards the North & East. & by the medow of s*^. Cap*. Hutcherson 
towards North & East. & the westerly part thereof bounded by a 
great Coue & a great Salt Creecke running Northward, Eastward 
& Westward Excepting onely a small parcell of Land of about 
fourteene rod's over. Viz. fourteene Acres belonging to the s^. 
pcell of Cap*. Hutcherson w^^. runeth betweene the s^. Lands 
abouesaide, & alsoe a pcell of land at hodg Hand denominated to 
bee ten acres ..." and his stock, household stuff, and farming 
implements, — the conveyance to take effect on the death of James 
Bill Sr., or the payment of the abovementioned £300. (Suff. 
Deeds, L. 6, f. 309.) This description shows that Edward Hutch- 
inson had purchased the allotment of Edward Baytes, owned by 
Captain John Leverett when Bill purchased the Gibbons farm, 
and that of Ralph Hudson, inherited by the children of Captain 
Leverett. The deed from Hutchinson confirms this impression. 
(See infra, p. 201.) 

Samuel Burnell of Boston, with his wife Ann, December 31, 
1674, for £180, conveyed to James Bill, their farm of thirty-six 
acres, bounded by Deane Winthrop east and northeast, and on 
all other sides by James Bill. (L. 9, f. 146.) By his last will and 
testament James Bill gave this to his sons James, Jonathan, and 
Joseph Bill. This farm was given to Samuel Burnell by the will 
of his father, " "William Burnell of pulling point." This will was 
dated April 16, 1660, presented for probate July 12, and confirmed 
by the County Court August 3. Of the two witnesses, Thomas 
Laughton and Deane Winthrop, the latter only took the witness' 
oath. William Burnell appointed his wife Sarah executrix, and 
" my Loving freind James Bell [Bill] of pulling point & John Dow- 
little of Eumney Marsh " overseers. He gave to his " sonne John 
Burnell my house & ground Lying in Boston to possesse it when 
he is at age of one & twentie yeares provided he is not Corrupted 
with that opinion Coinonly Called y^ Quakers, but in case he 
should be Ledd aside by y* opinion of Quakers & remaine so then 
my minde is y* he shall have but fifte pounds & thus to be payd 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 10 201 

unto him five pounds when lie is at y® age of one & twentie yeares, 
& so five pounds a yeare untill y*^ some of fiftie pound be payd 
him." £40 was to be paid his daughter Sarah when twenty-five 
years of age; this was secured on the farm at Pullen Point given 
to his son Samuel. The " house and land at pullin point " was 
valued at £100 by Mr. Winthrop and John Grover; the Cattle 
and other goods at Pullen Point at £27 by James Bill and John 
Southricke; the house and land in Boston at £30. (Suff. Prob. 
Rec., L. 1, f. 341 ; L. 4, f. 20. See also N. E. Hist, and Gen. Peg., 
X. 2 TO; ix. 230.) 

The Executors of the estate of Captain Edward Hutchinson con- 
veyed to James, Jonathan, and Joseph Bill, May 14, 1690, three 
parcels of land " together with the Dwelling house, outhouses & all 
other buildings on y'^ Same." The (1) was bounded S. and W. by 
the salt water; N. by Jonathan Bill, and E. by James Bill; 
the ( 2 ) " butted at y® Western end upon y^ line of y® former tract 
& runneth through y^ land of Jonathan Bill & Joseph Bill adjo}Ti- 
ing on the South Side to y® land of Robert Reynolds & so nmning 
downe to y^ Creeke upon which it butteth at y® Eashv*^ end " ; the 
(3) was meadow land bounded E. and N. by land and meadow of 
Deane Winthrop-; S. and W. by land and meadow of Joseph Bill. 
(SufP. Deeds, L. 16, f. 247.) According to the will of Captain 
Edward Hutchinson he rented his farm at Pullen Point to James 
Bill, Sr., and Jr., for £30 a year, and another piece of land there 
to Barnard Engles for 30s. a year. He also mentions in the will 
the "rent of my Island that lyeth before my farm" (Snake 
Island), and of 45 sheep James Bill "hath of mine." Accord- 
ing to the inventory of his estate, the " f arme & land at pullin- 
point " was valued at £400 ; the " little Jland about 6 Acres " 
at £30, and 45 " sheepe at pulinpoint" at £11 5s. (Suff. Prob. 
Rec, L. 5, f. 287; L. 6, f. 95.) Presumably the house on this 
farm, conveyed by the deed of ]\Iay 14, 1690, above cited, was the 
S. W. house on the plan of William Johnson, October 21, 1690, — 
the one on land assigned to Joseph Bill. The Hutchinson farm 
included, apparently, the Elias Maverick, Valentine Hill, Ralph 
Hudson, and Edward Bayts allotments, and the marsh of at least 
John Sanford, possibly of Thomas Fayreweather and John 
Winthrop. 

The land of Robert Reynolds mentioned in bounding Hutchin- 
son's farm has the following history. April 10, 1645, James Bill 
conveyed to Bernard Engle for £10 " all my Land at Pulling 
Point w'^'^ I purchased of M"* Wentworth Daye, there inhabiting 
with all the Housing upon it . . . except the Corne ground, (al- 



202 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

ready sowne in the feild there adjoining) for this crop next ensu- 
ing, the s*^ Land being in quantity Six acres, be it more or lesse, 
bounded towards the North & South w*^ the Land of the s^ AP 
Wentworth Daye, with the Land of Serj Major Gibbons toward 
the West, w^th the Land of John Euererd of Boston tow^ard the 
East." Confirmed by deed from James and Mary Bill, dated 
February, 1664/5 ; signed July 6, 1666 ; delivered to Captain 
Hutchinson for Engle August 26, 1667. In 1665 the land was 
bounded S. by Captain Edward Hutchinson; E., W. and N. by 
said James Bill. (Suff. Deeds, L. 5, ff. 45, 46.) May 1, 1682, 
Bernard Engles of Pullen Point conveyed it, bounded as last 
described, to Eobert Reynolds. (L. 12, f. 250.) By will dated 
May 29, 1705, and probated December 20, 1708, Robert Renalls 
of Pulling Point, yeoman, gave his " house & Land lying & being 
upon Pulling Point" etc. to his wife Elizabeth for life; at her 
death to be equally divided among his " Children Surviving," 
vizt. Elizabeth, Anne, Mary, Sarah, John and Abigail Renalls. 
The witnesses were Obadiah Parry, John Parry ( ?) and John 
Gyles Scr. Robert Renalls made his mark. The Avidow was 
appointed sole executrix by the Court. Apparently he had a son 
Robert, who died a fortnight before this will was drawn, as May 
13, 1705, administration on the estate of Robert Reynolds of 
Boston, brazier, a bachelor, had been granted to his father Robert 
Reynolds. (Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 16, ff. 11, 510.) February 1, 
1708/9, Elizabeth Rennalls of Pulling Point, widow, conveyed the 
six acres for £23 to Joshua Bill of Pulling Point. It was bounded 
" upon a Square line Northerly, by the land of Joseph Bills and 
by a Copse of M"" Deane Winthrop's deceased"; E., S. and W. by 
Joseph Bill, " being the land of Robert Renalls's late of Pulling 
Point deced intestate" (sic). (Suff. Deeds, L. 24, f. 126.) Joshua 
Bill was the son of Jonathan, and grandson of James, Bill. March 
12, 1708/9, Joshua Bill, with his wife Sarah, conveyed the same for 
£27 to his uncle Joseph Bill. (Ibid., L. 24, f. 193".) At the April 
term of the Suff. Co. Court of Common Pleas in 1724, Thomas 
Smith of Boston, sawyer, in the right of his wife Ann, daughter 
of Joseph Bill of Pullen Point deceased, brought suit against 
Joseph and Jeremiah Bill of Pullen Point to recover one seventh 
of one fourth of the above 6 acres. Joseph Bill, father of the said 
Ann, by will dated January 31, 1717/8 had, the complainants 
stated, given the 6 acres to his four sons Joseph, John, Josiah, 
and Jeremiah. Josiah died on or about January 3, 1721/2 with- 
out issue, and his one fourth should " be divided among the rest 
of [Joseph Bill's] Surviving Children equally/' that is one seventh 



Chap. VI] " APPENDIX 10 203 

of one fourth each to Joseph, John, Jeremiah and Hezekiah Bill, 
Hester Gooding [Goodwin], Sarah Ingham and the said Anne 
Smith. The verdict was for the plaintiffs. (MSS. Eecord of the 
Inferior Court of Common Pleas for Suff. Co., 1724-1725, p. 74. 
See also Ledyard Bill, Hist, of the Bill ramil_y.) The above 
descriptions show that this was the small lot on Fishers' Creeke, 
with a house thereon, which was cut out from the land of Joseph 
Bill on the plan by William Johnson, October 21, 1690.] 



204 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 



APPENDIX 11 

[Richard Tuttle died May 8, 1640. September 8, 1648, 
" Edward lloliock and Anne his wife " alienated the windmill, 
the site for which had been given " to M'^' Richard Tuttle now 
deceased by the select men of Boston." The signatures were 
Edward Ilolyoke and " the marke of Anne Tuttell." ^ Edward 
Holyoke came from Tamworth, Stalfordshire, near the edge of 
AVarwickshire, and was at Lynn as early as 1637. March 14, 
1638/9 he was admitted a freeman as M"* Edward Holliock. He 
was a man of influence, the agent of Lord Brooke in 1639, often a 
deputy to the General Court, from 1639 to 1648, an assistant 
judge at Salem Court 1639-1641, etc.^ Elizur Holyoke, who 
married William Pynchon's daughter and settled in Springfield, 
was his son. Edward Holyoke lived for a time in his wife's house 
in Boston, and the farm was known as "Mr. Holiocks Farme''; 
but on December 25, 1658, when he drew up an imperfect will, 
John Tuttle had occupied the house in Boston for two years and 
owed therefor £8.^ September 13, 1656, " Michael Martine & 
Susanna Holliocke daughter of Edward Holliocke of Rumney 
Marsh " were married. The " Inventory of the estate of M'' 
Edward Hollyoke, of Lynne, who dyed at Rumney Marsh, the 
4th May 1660 " was apprized by John Tuttle and John Dowlettell. 
He owned a farm at Lynn, and one at Reading; his stock was 
partly in Lynn and partly at Rumney Marsh. He mentioned in 
his will " my Cosan Dauis," — possibly Samuel Davis of Rumney 
Marsh, — and gave to John Dolittle 10s.* 

Presumably John Tuttle lived on the farm before he received 
the Boston house, as he was constable for the Rumney Marsh dis- 
trict in 1652. September 21, 1651, his son Edward was baptized 
by the pastor of the First Church in the right of his wife, a mem- 
ber of Lynn church. The birth of his daughter Mary, April 28, 

> Suff. Deeds, L. 1, f. 142. 

== Mass. Col. Rcc., i. 254, 250, 201, 270, 328, etc. 

* Town Records, April 12 and 29, 1050; Book of Possessions, 124, 125; 
N. E. Gen. Reg., ix. 345. 

* Ibid. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX II 205 

1653, Eebecca, June 17, 1660, and Jonathan, August 25, 1664, 
were recorded at Boston. 

" Jn°. Tuttle Sen'', of Eumney Marsh and Boston in New 
Eng*^," in a will dated at " my Dwelling house at Rumney Marsh 
this Eighth Day of Decemb'".," after a folio devoted to an expres- 
sion of his faith i q God, and advice to his children, bequeathed his 
whole estate, both real and personal, to his wife Mary for life, and 
appointed her executrix. After her death, the farm at Rumney 
Marsh was to be divided among his four sons, — John, Edward, 
Elisha, and Jonathan, — '' as Equally as may be in four Parts 
Only there shall be Allowance of those my Sons that have houses 
and Barnes built allready that they that want may build also what 
is needfull for their Use and benefitt." He also bequeathed to 
them a house and lot in Boston. Legacies were given to his three 
daughters, Mary, Sarah, and Rebecca. James Bill, Sen., of Pulling 
Point and " L*. W^\ Harsey, now of Reding," were appointed 
overseers. The wdtnesses were Samuel Stocker, Oliver Purchase, 
and " W" Hassy." The will was dated, at the close, November 8, 
1686, and probated March 31, 1687.^ 

The division of the farm of John Tuttle, deceased, contain- 
ing about 600 acres, by William Johnson of Woburn, was dated 
March 20, 1689 ; acknowledged April 2, 1690 ; recorded August 
10, 1715. In the division of the upland Edward Tuttle received 
the northwestern corner, next the farm of Captain John Floyd; 
Elisha Tuttle the southwestern portion, with the line of the farm 
on the west and south, Edward Tuttle on the north, and Jonathan 
Tuttle on the east; John Tuttle the southeastern portion of the 
farm next the sea with Lieutenant Harsey's farm on the south, 
Jonathan Tuttle on the west, and the marsh of Jonathan and 
Elisha Tuttle on the north; Jonathan Tuttle received land south 
of the swamp, with John Tuttle on the east, Elisha Tuttle on the 
west, and Lieutenant Harsey's farm on the south. The swamp 
or marsh, later the " dammed marsh," which extended from the 
sea north of John Tuttle's upland far into the farm almost to 
School Street, was divided among the sons, as was also saltmarsh 
lying southeast of John's upland.*^ 

The Farm of Edward Tuttle 

The children of Edward and Abigail Tuttle, as recorded at 
Boston, were: Abigail, born Feb. 14, 1677/8 (possibly married to 

" SuflF. Prob. Rec, L. 11, flf. 61-64. Edward Tuttle served as constable 
for Rumney Marsh in 1677, and John Tuttle, Jr., in 1684. 
•^ SuflF. Deeds, L. 29, f. 273. 



206 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

Jonathan Barret by Rev. Thomas Cheever, Dec. 8, 1698) ; Edward, 
Jan. 2, 1679/80; Mary, Aug. 31, 1681; John, Nov. 24, 1683; 
Joshua, July 20, 1687 ; Sarah, Jan. 5, 1688/9 ; Nathaniel, Nov. 
20, 1690 (sic) ; Phebee, Aug. 12, 1690 (sic) (possibly the Phebee 
Tuttle whose intention of marriage to Joses Bucknam was filed 
Aug. 27, 1713); John, March 11, 1693 [1694?]; Eiinice, Jan. 
30, 1695/6 (possibly married to Thomas Campbal by Dr. Mather 
in 1721) ; Damarus, Nov. 20, 1697 (died Oct. 21, 1723,.aged 25).^ 

Edward Tuttle, Sr., w^as one of the original signers of the 
church covenant at Rumney Marsh, but became dissatisfied and 
returned to the Lynn church, where he had previously worshipped. 
His wife Abigail died January 23, 1723/4, aged 67 years 11 mos. ; 
Edward Tuttle died January 30, 1730, in the 79th year of his 
age.* 

He divided his farm among his sons, Edward, Nathaniel, and 
Daniel, and the widow of his son John, by deeds of gift, dated 
July 6, 1719, and acknowledged at Lynn, March 27, 1721. In 
every case sale of the premises was forbidden during the lifetime 
of the grantor or of his wife Abigail. Reference is also made to 
legacies to be paid to the grantor's daughters. 

Nathaniel received 261/2 acres of upland at the northwest corner 
of the farm. From the north corner " the line ran 23i/> poles 
by "Mr. Floods farm" (later the Samuel Floyd farm) ; thence 
south to a stake, etc., where the old plum tree stood; west about 
141/2 poles to stones on the west side of a stone wall; south and 
southwest 24 poles to stones on the same side of said wall " the 
three last lines are bounded on land I gave my son Edward " ; 
then west " by the Land that I gave to the Children of my son 
John deced " 9I/2 poles to stones on the hillside above John's 
house ; then southwest 14 poles to stakes, etc. ; then northwest by 
a fence next to "my brother" Elisha's land 33 poles; east by 
the fence between land of Paul Dudley, Esq. (the little Keayne 
farm) and the said premises; and so along by the fence to the 
first bounds with the land of " John Flaud " (Floyd) on the north- 
west. Also about 4 acres 70 poles of saltmarsh " next Mr. John 
Flauds house," bounded northeast by " Mr. Flauds ditch " ; south- 
east by " my brothers marsh " ; south by Edward's marsh ; west 
by Daniel's upland. Also 7 acres of swamp at the south side of 
my swamp, bounded south with " Bro. Jonathan's upland " ; east 
by "bro. John Tut tie's swamp" about 32 poles; etc. Rights of 

* Gravestone. 
» Ibid. 

' This was the northwest corner of the estate of B. H. Dewing west of 
Broadway. Hopkins' Atlas, 1874. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 11 207 

way were reserved for his sons Edward and Daniel across the 
upland.^** 

Nathaniel Tuttle and his wife Sarah ^^ conveyed the upland to 
Joseph Ingraham, Jr., of Boston April 28, 1737, for £1100, bills of 
credit.^^ April 19, 1742, Joseph Ingraham, Jr., of Boston, and his 
wife Hannah, conveyed the same for £300. to Samuel Tuttle of 
Malden.^^ May 11, 1736, Samuel Tuttle and Anna Sargeant 
were married by Eev. Thomas Cheever. The birth of a daughter 
Elizabeth was recorded at Boston, March 5, 1736. There were 
recorded at Chelsea: Samuel, born 1739 -29th day — 3d month; 
Edward, 1741-19-6 (June 19, 1741 -Maiden Eecords) ; 
Elizabeth, 1743-8-3 (died in April, 1760, aged 17); Anna, 
1744 - 27 - 11 ; Joanna, 1746 - 28 - 10[ ?]. Anna, the wife, died 
in July, 1772, aged 54, a suicide. The land was mortgaged by 
Samuel Tuttle to John Tudor, January 2, 1752.^* March 8, 
1756, John Tudor of Boston, baker, conveyed the land to Samuel 
Watts Esqr., Nathan Cheever gentleman, and Benjamin Brintnall, 
3^eoman, of Chelsea for the use of the Town of Chelsea.^^ In 
the town records, September 12, 1755, the farm is spoken of as 
" y^ Estate of M"". Jn°. Tudor now in the Occupacon of Sam^^ 
Tuttle." The town paid £66 13s 4tZ in cash, and authorized its 
committee to mortgage the land for the remaining sum, £186 
135. 4:d. payable in two years. At the end of the two years 
William Vassall of Boston foreclosed the mortgage, and obtained 
judgment in the Superior Court for £209 85. 3d lawful money, 
and £3 14.s. Ad. cost of suit, against Samuel Watts Esqr., Nathan 
Cheever, and Benjamin Brintnall.^*' Samuel Watts assumed the 
mortgage. April 19, 1757, the selectmen had been empowered by 
the town to sell the lands in the occupation of Samuel Tuttle, and 
the town's saltmarsh (formerly of the Hasey farm) one or both, to 
meet " their Obligation to M'" William Vassall for the Lands in the 
Occupation of M"" Samuel Tuttle." The land was not sold. It was 
purchased for a parsonage, but Rev. Phillips Payson preferred to 
own it. The town agreed by vote of August 22, 1757. He received 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 54, f. 127. 

" Nathaniel Tuttle was married to Sarah Tuttle of Littleton by 
Rev. Thomas Cheever. Boston Rec. Com. Rep., xxviii. 90. He had a son 
Nathaniel born December 24, 1721. 

'- Suff. Deeds, L. 54, f. 127. 

" Ibid., L. 70, f. 18. In December, 1744, Anne, daughter of Samuel 
Tuttle, a member of the Second Church in Maiden, was baptized at Rumney 
Marsh; November 9, 1746, Joanna. 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 81, f. 222. 

^= Ibid., L. 91, f. 87. 

" Partitions and Executions, 1730-1758, 254. 



208 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

£150 on his settlement in the ministn- in Chelsea, and was to pay 
£13 6s. Sd. yearly until he had paid £103 6s. 8d. October 28, 1765, 
he received a receipt in full therefor. The land was conveyed to 
him by deed dated March 11, 1758, but some question arising as 
to the sufficiency of the title, a new conveyance was executed 
February 7, 1771, by Jonathan Green and Thomas Pratt, Gentle- 
men, and Samuel Sprague, husbandman, " in the capacity of a 
committee legally chosen and impowered by the Town of Chelsea," 
by vote of December 13, 1770.^' Twenty-six and one half acres were 
conveyed. Rights of way were excepted to the " back marshes " 
by '^ the open passing way as it is now fenced out " ; also to the 
town road from the lands of the assignees of Daniel and Edward 
Tuttle. September 1, 1761, the town voted to give Samuel Tuttle 
his house rent for three months if he left at the end of that time. 

When the direct tax of 1798 was assessed Payson's homestead 
contained thirty-three acres; he had increased his lands by pur- 
chasing some five and one half acres of the heirs of Mary Tuttle 
and three fourths of an acre from the widow of John Tuttle.^* 
His house covered ten hundred and fifty feet, was of two stories, 
and had twenty-three windows. Payson also owned fifty acres 
of woodland in the " Pan handle," nine acres of saltmarsh near 
" Oake Jsland," and four and one half acres in the dammed 
marsh. His lands were valued at $1288, and his house with one 
acre of land at $600 ; but as " a Settled Minister of the Gospel " 
he was not taxed. The Salem Turnpike measured from Sewall's 
boundary across the upland of the heirs of Rev. Phillips Payson 
and " the Town Road ninety-six poles, to a bound on the Southeast 
end of Payson's Hill, so called " ; thence 16 poles 8 links " over 
said Heirs Land " to land of James Stowers. The sum of $900.75 
was awarded by a jury for the land taken. Samuel Payson of 
Charlestown and Ann and Elizabeth Payson of Chelsea protested 
against this award. They insisted that the Turnpike had taken 
nearly four acres and that sufficient damages had not been awarded 
to pay for enclosing the remaining land with a fence. A second 
jury awarded $900^ costs $33.13. (Records of Court of General 
Sessions of the Peace, May 9, July 26, August 10, 1803.) 

October 1, 1802, Samuel Payson of Charlestown and his wife 
Ann, Ann and Elizabeth Payson of Chelsea (single) conveyed to 
Rev. Joseph Tuckerman of Chelsea four acres bounded southwest 
by Captain James Stowers 37 rods; north by Moses Collins 29 
rods (the Dudley farm) ; northeast by land of the grantees 21 
rods; southeast by the contemplated turnpike road as laid out 

" SufT. Deeds, L. 93, f. 168; L. 118, ff. 219, 220. 
" Infra, pp. 211, 213. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 11 209 

231/2 rods. (Suff. Deeds, L. 204, f. 56.) From Joseph Tuckerman 
this passed to John Wright. (L. 324, f. 201.) 

October 20, 1803, Elizabeth Payson quitclaimed 25 acres to her 
brother, Samuel. (L. 219, f. 33.) January 14, 1806, Samuel 
Payson of Chelsea conveyed to the town of Chelsea for $5 a parcel 
of land bounded south on Abner Gay ; thence by the Turnpike 41 
feet ; thence by said Payson to the old town road ; and by the latter 
road to Gay's land. (L. 2i9, f. 85.) The town utilized it for 
a pound. December 6, 1816, Samuel Payson of Charlestown con- 
veyed to Abner Gay of Chelsea, blacksmith, half an acre bounded 
southwest on the town pound; northwest on Salem Turnpike; 
northeast and east on the town road (now School Street). (L. 258, 
f. 112.) September 24, 1838, Samuel Payson of Charlestown con- 
veyed to Benjamin Shurtleff, physician (1) 19 acres bounded 
northeast on David Floyd; east and northeast on the heirs 
of Samuel Sewall; east, southeast, and south on Deacon James 
Floyd to the town road; southwest on said road; northwest 
on Jonathan Fuller and Peter C. Hall to the first bound. This 
land lay on both sides of the Salem turnpike. (2) 3 acres 
bounded southwest on John AVright; northwest on Wright and 
Jonathan Fuller to the town road; northeast on said road to 
Salem Turnpike; east on said turnpike, etc. The conveyance 
reserves to the Town of Chelsea and proprietors of the back 
marshes the open way as it is fenced to the land of David Floyd; 
also to Deacon James Floyd and estates to the east of Salem 
Turnpike the free use of the lane from said turnpike to said 
Floyd's land as a road. (L. 444, f. 268.) The former right of 
way was west of the Salem Turnpike and led to the marshes 
bordering on the Pines Eiver, more especially to the marshland 
formerly belonging to the little Keayne or Dudley farm, later 
owned by Moses Collins and James Stowers. Deacon James Floyd 
owned the farm of Edward Tuttle, second of the name. (See 
infra, p. 213.) Pa3'Son also conveyed to Shurtleff 20 14 acres of 
what had formerly been the Dudley farm ; 12 acres of salt marsh 
near Oak Island, and a parcel in the dammed marsh. 

July 1, 1839, Benj. Shurtleff and his wife Sally conveyed the 
second parcel, — 31/4 acres 13 rods, — to John Wright of Chelsea. 
(L. 446, f. 71.) This with the land purchased of Joseph Tucker- 
man as noted above, 14 acres in all, with buildings thereon, 
was subject of further conveyances recorded in Suff. Deeds, L. 
446, f. 72; L. 535, f. 258; L. 578, f. 82; L. 1107, f. 170; a 
plan of the land may be seen at the end of L. 1215. When Hop- 
kins' Atlas was published the land belonged to Tapley and Hall. 

VOL. I. — 14 



210 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

October 23, 1841, Benj. Shurtleff conveyed to Benj. H. Dewing 
of Boston, bricklayer, for $3,000 ten acres with buildings thereon. 
The land was bounded northeast on David Floyd ; southeast on 
Salem Turnpike; southwest on the old town road [to Maiden] ; 
northwest on Jonathan Fuller and the heirs of the late Nathaniel 
Hall. (L. 475, f. 210.) March 13, 1845, same to same, 9% 
acres 20 rods, bounded northeast by the heirs of Samuel Sewall; 
east, south, east, and southeast; soitth and southeast by Deacon 
James Floyd to the old town road; southwest on said road []\Ialdon 
Street] to Salem Turnpike; northwest on said turnpike to the 
first bounds. (L. 540, f. 255.) Thus the estate of Benj. H. 
Dewing as outlined on Hopkins' Atlas of Suff. Co., Vol. IV., 
Plate P, represents the northwest corner of the farm of John 
Tutlle, who died in 1687. The lino of division between the ancient 
Cogan and Tuttle farms followed the northern and western 
bounds of the Dewing estate. 

July 6, 1719, Edward Tuttle, Sr., and his wife Abigail convej^ed 
by deed of gift to Ruhamah Tuttle, widow of his son John, for 
life, and then to John and Abigail, the children of his said son 
John, 6 acres of upland and 3 acres 89 poles of swamp adjoining 
to the upland, — both a^; the south part of his farm. Beginning 
at a stake, etc. "by my brother Elisha's fence (southwest from 
John Tuttle deceased his house)," the line ran N.E. 14 poles to 
stones on a hill above John's house aforsd ; then on the back- 
side of sd house S.E. to a rock at the S. end of it by the swamp 
about 66 poles from the cast bound on the hill ; then E. about 
4 poles 11 ft. to stones at the corner of the upland; then near S. 
*' across the swamp to Brothers upland " ; then W. by the upland 
28 poles 51/2 ft. to "Brother Elisha's fence"; then N. by sd 
*' Elisha's line to his corner " ; then N.W. by my sd Brothers line 
about 67% poles to the first bounds ; with the house on the same 
that my son John built there. (Suff. Deeds, L. 35, f. 234.) 
John Tuttle was married to Ruhama Marble by Nicholas Paige 
J. P. January 22, 1711/2, and their son John was bom February 27, 
1712/3. June 23, 1723, Ruhamah Tuttle, widow of John Tuttle, 
joined the church at Rumnoy Marsh. September 23, 1742, her son 
John married Mehitobel Kent, presumably daughter of Joseph 
and Rebecca (Chittenden) Kent of Charlestown, born August 26, 
1711, and sister of Stephen Kent, tenant on the Gary farm, 
and of Benjamin Kent, who married a daughter of the Hon. 
Samuel "Watts of the Ferry farm. (Wyman.) Their children 
as recorded at Chelsea were: John, bom 1743-21st dav-4th 
month; Rebecca, 1745-25-10; Joseph, 1748-10-6; Elijah, 
1750-10-9. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 11 211 

In 1758, a parcel of 8 acres 89 poles was mortgaged by John 
Tuttle to Samuel Pratt (released 1759). It was bounded W. on the 
town road; S. and S.E. on Jonathan Hawkes (formerly Elisha 
Tuttle) ; E. on Nath. Cheever and N. on Edward Tuttle. (L. 91, 
f. 188.) May 9, 1759, John Tuttle, husbandman, conveyed to Sam- 
uel Pratt, " Gentleman," 4 acres already mortgaged to Samuel 
Pratt, described as above. (L. 93, f. 41.) Three-fourths of an acre 
was sold by the widow Mehitable Tuttle, and Zachariah Symmes of 
Medford and his wife Eebecca, (the widow and daughter of John 
Tuttle) to Phillips Payson, April 29, 1784. It was bounded N". and 
AV. by said Payson ; S. by Capt. James Stowers, and E. by the Town 
Road. (L. 142, f. 272.) December 28, 1796, Zachariah Symmes 
of Woburn and his wife Eebecca conveyed to Jonathan Fuller of 
Chelsea, for £23 2s. 6d., two and one-half acres " contained in 
a parcel of Land of four Acres and five-eighth parts of an acre 
and undivided from the same," the whole bounding west on the 
town road; north on James Floyd, Jr. (who had purchased 
the Edward Tuttle farm); east on Samuel Pratt; and south 
on Capt. James Stowers. (Sulf. Deeds, L. 186, f. 2.) Symmes 
was the host of the well known " Black Horse Tavern " at Woburn. 
(Symmes Memorial (1873), 52.) Title to the other half of 
this piece of land had been conveyed to Jonathan Fuller for £23 
2s. 6d. April 3, 1794, by the children and heirs of Edward Bur- 
beck of Newburyport, James Burbeck, and Benjamin Coates and 
his wife Nabby in her right. (L. 178, f. 98.) 

Edward Tuttle, Sr., of Eumney Marsh and his wife Abigail 
conveyed to Edward Tuttle, his son, a " Part of my Farm in 
Eumney Marsh," 361/2 acres of upland and swamp. The first 
boundary mark was " a Stake and heap of Stones on the side Hill 
where the old Plumtrees were Southwest from the House." 
Thence the line ran W. 141/) poles, bounded N. " with the Land 
that I gave to my son Nath"."; S.W. 24 poles, bounded N.W. with 
sd Nathaniel's land ; S.E. to " a Eock by the Swamp," bounded 
S.W. with " the Land that I have given to my son John's Widow 
and Children " ; E. near 5 poles " to a heap of Stones that is at 
the Corner of the Upland" ; ^N. 1 pole ; E. " through my Swamp 
to Brother Johns Line, Bounded Southerly by Nath^'. Swamp, 
leaving about Thirty-two Poles of Brothers Line for the Breadth of 
Nath" swamp"; N. 15i^ poles " on said Line to that Swamp 
that I gave to my Son Daniel "; N.W. 44 poles to a " Stake in 
the swamp ... set six Pole and Three Quarters South of a heap 
of Stones that was made for a Line between Upland and Swamp " ; 
N. to a heap of stones in the low land 14% poles from " ]\F. 
Flauds Fence " ; N.W. 53 poles to a stake etc. which is also 14% 



212 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

poles from sd Flauds fence; S. 59 poles to the first bound. Also 4 
acres 70 poles of " salt marsh at the East End of my Farm " be- 
tween the marsh of Xathaniel and Daniel. On the " Upland is 
my House that I Dwell in, my Barn Outhousing and Orchard and 
Garden and Well," all of which are included in this conveyance 
except " the West End of my Dwelling House and the Use of 
the Cellar belonging thereunto the Garden as it is now Fenced, 
and the Priviledge of Using of the ovens and Well," and the 
" Wood on the foresaid Upland," in which the grantor retained 
a life interest for himself and his wife. (L. 54, f. 142.) 

Edward Tuttle married Joanna, daughter of Hugh Floyd. 
Their children as recorded at Boston were: Edward, July 21, 1707 
(died April 20, 1727 [sici, aged 20 years 9 mos. Gravestone) ; 
Joanna, Aug. 22, 1709; William, April 10, 1711; Joseph, March 
12, 1711/2; Sarah, April 7, 1713; Samuel, Feb. 10, 1714/15; 
Joseph, Jan. 10, 1716/17 (died May 10, 1718) ; Mary, June 23, 
1718 (died Dec. 24, 1718); Benjamin, March 31, 1721; Elijah, 
Oct. 4, 1722 (died Aug. 18, 1736, aged 13 years 10 mos.) ; Dam- 
aris. May 27, 1724; Ebenezer, Jan. 27, 1726/7 (died Nov. 23, 
1729. Gravestone.) ; Eunice, Apr. 30, 1728 (died Sept. 18, 1728). 
Mrs. Joanna Tuttle died Oct. 19, 1728, aged 42. (Gravestone.) 
After the death of her father, Hugh Floyd, William, Samuel, 
and Sarah Tuttle, Nov. 29, 1731, nominated their father Edward 
Tuttle as their guardian to receive their legacies. The court 
appointed him guardian of Elijah, Damaras and Benjamin. (Suff. 
Prob. Eec, L. 29, if. 298-302.) Aug. 13, 1733, Edward Tuttle 
married ]\Iartha Burbeck. He died in 1768, aged 88. (Church 
Eecords.) 

February 14, 1744, Benjamin Tuttle married Mary, daughter 
of John Sale. (Infra, Appendix 13.) The children of Benjamin 
and ]\Iary Tuttle recorded at Chelsea were: Joanna, born 1748-23d 
day-4th month, married John Wells, Jr., June 2, 1774; Mary, 
born 1750-12-6, married Budd Eotjinson, Feb. 19, 1771; Ben- 
jamin, 1750-16-4; Ebenezer, 1754-17-4; Joseph, 1755-28-8; 
Huldah Crofford, 1758-22-2, bapt. Feb. 26, 1758, married Fran- 
cis James (intention recorded March 21, 1782) ; Turell, 1759- 
25-7, bapt. July 29, 1759; Edward, bapt. Jan. 31, 1762; ]\[artha, 
bapt. June 10, 1764; Daniel, bapt. April 13, 1766; Samuel, bapt. 
Aug. 19, 1770. Benj. Tuttle died in September, 1775. 

Jan. 18, 1757, Edward Tuttle, with his wife Martha, for £450 in 
silver, conveyed to Benjamin Tuttle, his son, his " whole Home- 
stead of Housing and Lands situate in said Chelsea," 36 acres of 
tillage, pasture and mowing land, the same which his father con- 
veyed to him July 6, 1719. Also 4 acres of meadow and 7 acres 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 11 213 

of salt marsh. (Suff. Deeds, L. 89, f. 271.) However, on June 9, 
1753, Edward and Martha Tuttle had mortgaged 30 acres to 
Joshua Orne of Marblehead for £236 13s. 4:d. It was described 
as " all that Messuage and Parcel of Land in Chelsea aforesaid 
containing thirty acres, whereon I now dwell," bounded north by- 
Daniel Tuttle ; " westerly by Land of me the said Edward Tuttle 
and Samuel Tuttle [then owner of the Nathaniel Tuttle farm] 
with a now standing Fence," south by Ruhamah Tuttle and 
Nathan Cheever; east by Benjamin Tuttle and Daniel Tuttle, — 
" having a private way thro it leading to the Land of the said 
Samuel Tuttle." (L. 82, f. 153.) Judgment for the land was 
issued against Mary Tuttle, widow of Benjamin Tuttle; and April 
13, 1782, Azor Orne, Esq., of Marblehead sold it to Samuel 
Sprague. (L. 136, f. 55.) June 1, 1781, the executors of the will 
of Capt. Samuel Sprague conveyed for £310 to James Floyd, Jr., 
30 acres with the buildings thereon. The land was then bounded 
W. partly on the town road (School Street) and partly on land 
of Mr. Payson; S. partly on the main ditch in the dammed marsh 
and partly on land of the heirs of John Tuttle ; E. and N. on land 
of the heirs of Samuel Sprague, and of Mr. Henchman. (L. 143, 
f. 167.) When the direct tax of 1798 was assessed, James Floyd, 
Jr., possessed 22 acres of upland bounded S. on Jonathan Fuller, 
W. on the town road; N. on Samuel Sewell, and E. on James 
Stowers; also ten acres of meadow. April 5, 1842, James Floyd 
conveyed by deed of gift to his son John Floyd a farm of thirty 
acres with buildings thereon, stating that it was the same con- 
veyed to him by the executors of Capt. Samuel Sprague in 1784. 
He retained a life interest therein. (L. 481, ff. 256, 257.) Be- 
tween 1851 and 1862 John Floyd conveyed about eighteen acres 
to George A. Tapley. (L. 623, f. 191; L. 717, f. 77; L. 792, 
f. 150; L. 828, f. 55.) Jan. 14, 1869, he conveyed the remain- 
der, eight acres north and six acres south of what was then known 
as Middle or Floyd Street, now Revere Street, to Benj. H. Dewing. 
It lay between the land of Dewing on the west and that of H. F. 
Cooledge (the Daniel Tuttle -farm) on the east. (L. 948, f. 306; 
see also L. 917, f. 214; L. 671, f. 256.) 

March 29, 1784, the heirs of Mary Tuttle, late of Chelsea, 
deceased, widow, conveyed to Rev. Phillips Payson for £45 51/2 
acres bounded west on said Payson; N. on Mr. Trevitt; E, 
on Capt. Sprague's heirs, and S. on said heirs by the road or 
way to the dwelling house of said Sprague's heirs. (L. 142, f. 129.) 
This land sold to Payson passed to Dewing by the deeds cited 
above. Thus the western portion of Dewing's estate as represented 



214 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

on Hopkins' Atlas had formerly belonged to the farm of Nathaniel 
Tuttle ; the eastern portion, to the farm of Edward Tuttle, second 
of the name. 

Edward and Abigail Tuttle, July 6, IT 19, conveyed to their 
son Daniel Tuttle by deed of gift 26^ acres of upland; also 4 
acres 70 poles of marsh, and 8 acres of swamp adjoining thereto, 
— the upland being at the east end of the farm. From the north- 
east corner of the upland of said Edward's farm, the line ran 
south as the line ran between the upland and marsh, and across 
the marsh of Nathaniel and Edward, about 19 poles; then south 
(or southeast in 1755) about 54 poles to a stake by a little ditch 
bounded northeast by marsh of my son Edward; then southwest 
by said ditch 28 poles; northwest 21^ poles; north 141/2 poles; 
west 51 poles " by Brothers swamp to where brother John's swamp 
line crosses the swamp"; then ran east (in 1755 south) about 
291/2 poles " to the swamp on brother John's line " ; then northwest 
44 poles to a stake in the swamp about 6% poles south of the 
bounds between the upland and swamp between Edward and 
Daniel's upland; then north about 53 poles between Daniel and 
Edward's lands to stones lying in low ground about 14% poles 
from " Mr. Eland's line " ; then west 53 poles to stones in 
Nathaniel's line being again 14% poles from Mr. Flaud's line; 
then north 14% poles to " Flaud's line " ; then southeast on said 
"Flaud's line" about 121l^ poles to the first bounds. A right 
of way to the marsh was reserved for Edward and Nathaniel. 
(L. 87, f. 231.) 

Daniel Tuttle and Mary Lamson were married by Eev. Thomas 
Cheever, Nov. 19, 1730. Two children are recorded at Chelsea: 
Daniel born 1732-the 23d[ ?]day-Gth month; Mary, 1739-3-8[?]. 
Daniel Tuttle, Jr., died in December, 1762, aged thirty. Daniel 
Tuttle, Sr., died in August, 1771, aged 77 ; Mary, widow of Daniel 
Tuttle, died in February, 1775, aged 63. (Church Eecords.) 
No son Daniel appears in the list of the children of Edward and 
Abigail Tuttle. Possibly he w^as the son born March 11, 1693 
[1694?] and recorded in Boston under another name. 

March 11, 1761, Daniel Tuttle of Chelsea, husbandman, with his 
wife Mary, conveyed to Samuel Sprague of Chelsea, yeoman, for 
£213 6s. Sd. 321/2 acres with the buildings thereon. The line ran 
south on Jonathan Fuller and Edward Tuttle 71 rods; southeast 
on Edward Tuttle 441/2 rods, north along the west boundary of 
Tudor and Green's land 29% rods ; east on said Green making 
a small bend 53 rods; south by said Green 15% rods; east by 
said Green 2 rods; northeast by Samuel Floyd 2814 rods; north- 



1 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 11 215 

west by Ed. Tuttle 58% rods; north by Samuel Floyd 18% rods; 
northeast by said Floyd 6Qy2 rods. (L. 95, f. 250. For earlier 
conveyances to David Jenkins by way of mortgage, etc., see L. 87, 
f. 232; L. 94, 1 148; L. 95, f. 250.) Rights of way were in- 
cluded through " my Brother Edward Tuttle's land " to the Town 
Koad; also through the land of Rev. Phillips Payson. These 
were vested in him by his father Edward Tuttle. The west 
boundary shows that a strip of upland between the lands of Edward 
Tuttle and the Floyd farm had been cut off from this farm. This 
was done by deed dated Nov. 26, 1760, when Daniel and Mary 
Tuttle for £30 conveyed five acres to Tabitha Wilson, who, in 
turn, conveyed the same to Jonathan Fuller, March 5, 1761. The 
land bounded south on land in the tenure and occupation of 
Edward Tuttle; north on land in the occupation of Samuel 
Floyd; east on land conveyed by Daniel Tuttle to Capt. David 
Jenkins; west on land of Rev. Phillips Payson. (L. 95, ff. 142, 
262.) December 18, 1771, Jonathan Fuller and his wife Mary 
conveyed the same for £42 to Lydia Henchman of Marble- 
head, widow. (L. 120, f. 220). Henceforth this belonged to the 
Henchman, later the Sewall, formerly the Samuel Floyd, farm. 
The addition of this strip of land fourteen and one half poles 
wide accounts for the irregularity in the southern line of the 
Sewall farm in 1852 (Suff. Deeds, L. 636, f. 303) ; also in the 
line of division between Plates Q. and R. in Hopkins' Atlas. 

Samuel Sprague by will gave the use of the house on this farm 
to his wife Rachel for life. In April, 1791, title to the land was 
conveyed by the executors of the will of Capt. Samuel Sprague, 
through John Tukesbury, Jr., to James Stowers, — the consid- 
eration was £240. (L. 173, ff. 77, 78.) In 1798 the house, described 
as " Verry old," of two stories, with 12 windows, and covering 600 
feet, was valued at $132, was owned by James Stowers (son-in- 
law of Samuel Sprague), and was occupied by James Stowers, Jr. 
The house lot and the upland of the farm were 19 acres, and were 
bounded north on Samuel Sewall (formerly the Samuel Floyd 
farm), east on Samuel Sewall and Phillips Payson; south on 
Vinton (the John Tuttle farm) and west on James Floyd (the 
Edward Tuttle fann). There adjoined it two lots of salt marsh 
containing eight and four acres respectively. In 1849 this farm, 
thirty-two acres of upland and marsh with a dwelling-house and 
other buildings thereon, was conveyed by Christopher C. Stowers 
to Henry F. Cooledge, in whose name it appears on Hopkins' 
Atlas. (L. 599, f, 140; see also L. 582, f. 194, etc.) 



216 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

The Elisha Tuttle Farm 

In 1689 Elisha Tuttle received the southwestern comer of his 
father's farm, with Edward Tuttle on the north and Jonathan 
Tuttle on the cast. March 26, 1690, for £57 he conveyed to Isaac 
Lewis 7I/2 acres of upland bounded west on the Newgate farm; 
south on land of Lewis, — part of the original Cole farm ; north 
and east on Elisha Tuttle. The land measured 20 poles at its west 
end on the Newgate farm and ran 120 poles to a point at the 
east end. He also conveyed 4 acres in the '' Great Swamp," later 
called the dammed marsh, bounded north by the brook from the 
Cow bridge down to marsh of John Tuttle, etc. (Suff. Deeds, 
L, 15, f. 151.) October 6, 1710, he joined with the heirs of 
Lieutenant Joseph Hasey in the deed of the church plot. (L. 33, 
f. 244.) 

July 15, 1719, Elisha Tuttle, Sr., of Eumney Marsh with his 
wife Hannah, conveyed to Elisha Tuttle, Jr., for £420 " all that 
his Farm ... in Rumney Marsh," and all buildings thereon 
" except the East end of the house from the top to tJie bottom " 
during the life of himself and his wife, also the stock and farm 
implements. The upland was bounded south on Isaac Lewis, on 
land given for the meeting-house, and on Hasey (from a point 
20 feet from the east end of the meeting-house, to Jonathan 
Tuttle's land) ; east on Jonathan Tuttle; north on Edward Tuttle; 
west on the Newgate farm. The marsh was bounded east on a 
creek that ran between the said marsh and marsh of John and 
Jonathan Tuttle, north on marsh of Lieutenant John Floyd; 
west on marsh of Edward Tuttle and south on marsh of John 
Tuttle. (Suff. Deeds, L. 34, f. 48.) 

March 29, 1728, Elisha Tuttle conveyed to Nathan Cheever 
for £20 bills of credit, land adjoining the meeting-house plot 
to the east. It was bounded on Joseph Hallowell [Hasey] 15 
rods 10 feet; east on Jonathan Tuttle 12 rods 7I/2 feet; north 
on Elisha Tuttle running on a southwest line till it met the 
northeast corner of the meeting-house land; west on the meeting- 
house plot measuring there about 2 rods. This conveyance was 
recorded July 29, 1766. (L. 109, f. 35.) Nathan Cheever pur- 
chased, in 1730, three acres 60 poles from Jonathan Tuttle. 
{Infra, p. 223.) February 23, 1762, Nathan Cheever conveyed to 
the town of Chelsea for a pound a piece of land 32 feet square with 
its northwest corner on the road, bounded west on land belonging 
to the town (the meeting-house lot) and south, east, and north on 
said Cheever. The location of the pound received the attention of 
at least four town-meetings. August 21, 1759, a committee was 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 11 217 

appointed, and was instructed to consider the land " where the 
old meetting House stood a Peace of land partly in Common and 
partly at Present in Possession of Cp' Jenkens." The meeting- 
house lot of 1710 extended 40 feet south of the building and to the 
south of it lay the farm of Lieutenant Joseph Hasey, a part of 
which had been purchased by Captain Jenkins. ( See infra, Appen- 
dix 12.) Committees for the same purpose were appointed Septem- 
ber 3, 1759, and May 19, 1760. May 18, 1761, the town voted not 
to accept Mr. Nathan Clieever s proposal as to " a Spot of Land to 
Erect a pound upon," also, " not to have a Stone fence between the 
town and M"". Nathan Cheever about the meeting house as said 
M"". Cheever proposed." September 1, 1761, the town voted to 
accept this piece of land, which was deeded to it February 23, 
1762, as above stated. (L. 97, f. 197. See also L. 219, f. 84.) 
October 27, 1769, Nathan Cheever conveyed to Jonathan Green 
for 10s. 8d. three poles of land, bounded west on land of the 
town of Chelsea near the northeast corner of said " Towns old 
meeting house," bounded north on the pound for the full length 
of the pound; then extending south from said pound 24 feet and 
bounded east and south on Nathan Cheever. (L. 126, f. 255.) 
In 1770 Nathan Cheever mortgaged three acres near the meet- 
ing-house bounded south by William Low (formerly of Joseph 
Hasey) ; east by Edward Watts (the Jonathan Tuttle farm) ; 
north, west and northwest by the road, by land of Jonathan Green, 
by the meeting-house plot, and by the town's pound. (L. 116, 
f. 236.) This land was inherited by Joshua Cheever, son of 
Nathan Cheever (see supra, Appendix 5). April 12, 1792, Joshua 
Cheever with his wife Abigail conveyed to Abijah Hastings, Jr., 
of Chelsea for £19 three fourths of an acre bounded south 
on John Low; east on said Cheever; northwest, west, and north 
on the town road leading to Chelsea meeting-house. (L. 173, 
f. 174.) It would appear from this either that the meeting-house 
stood farther east than in 1710, or that Nathan Cheever acquired 
a small strip of land from the Hasey farm. This matter is puz- 
zling. The conveyance of 1710 above cited states that the con- 
veyance was a deed of gift, yet when in 1757 the proprietors of 
the meeting-house conveyed it to the town, they stated that Samuel 
Pratt advanced money to purchase the land on which it stood. 
(Town Records, May 16, 1757.) Samuel Pratt was only seven 
years of age in 1710. When the direct tax of 1798 was assessed 
there stood on this land of Abijah Hastings, Jr., " a New House 
only Covered & Glazed." It covered 1216 feet, was of two stories, 
had 24 windows and was valued at $600. In January, 1805, 
Joshua Cheever conveyed to William Eustis for $500 2i/^ acres 



218 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

Sy^ poles, his land near the meeting-house except a strip of land 
east thereof which was reserved for a burying ground. (Suff. 
Deeds, L. 219, f. 83.) Of the land thus reserved the heirs of 
Deacon Joshua Cheever conveyed to John Pratt of Boston and 
Seth Copeland of Chelsea, July 25, 1825, for $50, land bounded 
north on the tomb of the heirs of Deacon Joshua Cheever and 
the heirs of Deacon \Vm. Harris; east 24 feet on the road or way 
leading to the burying ground; west 24 feet on the east side of 
the meeting-house. (L. 304, f. 140.) The same grantees con- 
veyed to John Sturgis and Daniel Copeland of Boston for the 
same price a similar plot of land adjoining to the south the fore- 
going. (L. 308, f. 22.) In September, 1805, the town of Chelsea 
conveyed to William Eustis the land near the meeting-house on 
which the pound lately stood, — 30 feet square ; and Eustis 
conveyed to the town a plot of land abutting on the barn of Abijah 
Hastings, Jr., 24 feet, and on the meeting-house lands 141 feet. 
(L. 219, f. 84.) 

June 26, 1753, Elisha Tuttle, yeoman, conveyed to Jonathan 
Hawks of Lynn, cordwainer, for £133 6s. 8d., 16 acres of upland 
bounded north and east on the widow Euhamah Tuttle (see supra, 
p. 210) ; south on said Elisha; west on the town road. (L. 83, 
f. 216.) November 15, 1753, Elisha Tuttle for £1000 conveyed 
to Jonathan Hawkes of Lynn title to 50 acres of land on which 
a house stood. It was bounded east on the town road; south 
on Isaac Lewis ; west on land in the possession of Robert Temple 
(the Newgate-Shrimpton farm) ; north on the widow Dudley's 
land (the little Keayne or Dudley farm) and land in the pos- 
session of Samuel Tuttle and of Ruhamy Tuttle. Also 30 acres 
on' which the barn stood bounded west and south by the town 
road; east by land of Samuel Watts (formerly the Jonathan 
Tuttle farm) ; and north by Nathan Cheever, Ruhamy Tuttle and 
Jonathan Hawkes. (L. 84, f. 154.) April 11, 1758, Elisha 
Tuttle and his wife Elizabeth for £533 6s. Sd. conveyed to Jona- 
than Hawkes of Medford, innholder, title to all the land above 
conveyed, — that is to 92 acres with one dwelling-house and a barn 
thereon. The south boundary was Isaac Lewis, and the " Town 
Road from the Corner of the Pound to the North Corner of the 
Land in the occupation of Ebenezer Hough" (formerly the Jona- 
than Tuttle farm). This shows that the town's pound stood in 
1758 on the division line of the Lewis and Tuttle farm west of the 
road from the landing on Mill Creek to the Kea3aie farm, now 
Beach and School streets. (L. 91, f. 166.) 

December 11, 1754, Elisha Tuttle had mortgaged to Nathan 
Cheever a portion of the land above conveyed, — that is, 23 acres 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 11 219 

bounded west on the road (School Street) ; north on Jonathan 
Hawks, east on Samuel Watts, Esqr., and south on the road (to 
the beach). Nathan Cheever obtained judgment for the above 
at the Inferior Court of Common Pleas at the April term of 
court in 1756; and received possession of the land August 30, 
1756, from Eichard Watts, Deputy-Sheriff. May 18, 1757, 
Cheever sold his rights therein to David Jenkins of Boston (step- 
son of Joshua Cheever, Esqr., son of Eev. Thomas Cheever), 
for £109 18s. lOd.; and May 11, 1758, David Jenkins, for the 
same sum, conveyed the same to Jonathan Hawks of Medford. 
(L. 90, f. 128; L. 92, f. 250.) Another mortgage on the western 
80 acres, placed there by Elisha Tuttle and his wife Elizabeth in 
1746, was not released until 1771. (L. 71, f. 222.) In 1730, Elisha 
Tuttle purchased 10 acres and in 1735, 8 acres of the Jonathan 
Tuttle farm lying north of Beach Street. The intention of mar- 
riage of Elisha Tuttle and Elizabeth Sprague of Maiden was 
recorded at Boston, March 16, 1723/4. A son Jacob was baptized 
at Eumney Marsh, Feb. 28, 1724/5; a daughter Elizabeth, April 
9, 1727. The latter married Nathan Cheever, Jr., March 4, 
1744. Town Eecords.) Elizabeth, wife of Elisha Tuttle, died 
in January, 1773, aged 86 years; Elisha died in October, 1775, 
aged 85. (Church Eecords.) Possibly Jacob Tuttle (H. C. 1743) 
was the son. 

Two children of Jonathan and Abigail Hawks were recorded 
at Chelsea: William, born 1756-4th day-3d month; Abigail, 
1761-5-4. Jonathan Hawks died in 1762 aged 47. Three chil- 
dren of the widow Abigail Hawks were baptized November 27, 
1768, Hannah, Edward, and Abigail; the former was described 
as an " adult daughter." Three children of .Jonathan Hawks, who 
married Eachel Sprague May 20, 1776, were recorded: Eachel, 
1776-2-9; Abigail, 1778-3-3; Elizabeth, 1780-2-8. Eachel, 
the wife, died June 27, 1782, aged 26. 

October 29, 1765, Abigail Hawkes, as administratrix of the 
estate of her husband Jonathan Hawkes, conveyed to Thomas 
Pratt for £120 18 acres of land bounded N. on Lt. Nathan Cheever 
and Lt. Samuel Pratt ; E. on Hon. Samuel Watts ; S. on the town 
road leading by the meeting-house; and West on lands of the 
said Abigail. On the following day Thomas Pratt reconveyed 
the same land for the same consideration to the widow Abigail 
Hawkes. No mention was made of buildings. (Suff. Deeds, 
L. 107, ff. 244, 246.) From Abigail Hawkes the title passed to 
her son Jonathan Hawkes (L. 129, f. 160) ; from him to Thomas 
Euggles (L. 141, f. 230) ; from Euggles to Samuel Dyer, Jan. 19, 
1785 (L. 147, f. 42) ; from Samuel Dyer of Boston to Samuel 



220 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Cuap. VI 

Lowe, March 24, 1792, a dwelling house and 18 acres of land. 
(L. 172, f. 165.) When the direct tax of 1798 was assessed, it 
was owned by Samuel Low and occupied by William Pratt. The 
house covered 900 feet, was of two stories, had 16 windows and, 
with half an acre of land, was valued at $440. There was a bam 
33 X 30. William Pratt was also tenant of other land in Chelsea 
owned by Samuel Low and by Polly Low. By will dated April 28, 
1822, and probated July 7, 1823, Samuel Low left his property 
to his wife Martha, and recommended Samuel Pratt as her heir. 
Martha Low in her will dated May 29, 1833, and probated June 8, 
1846, left certain legacies and made Samuel Pratt residuarv 
legatee. (Suff. Prob. Eec, L. 121,^ f. 18; L. 144 ^ f. 293.) 
Samuel Pratt in 1854 sold a lot of land 80 X 132 feet to Timothy 
Gay and retained 17% acres. (Suff. Deeds, L. 675, f. 219; 
L. 726, f. 28.) 

September 30, 1782, Abigail Hawks of Boston, widow, con- 
veyed to Peter Thacher of Maiden, clerk, and his wife Elizabeth, 
Samuel Cheney of Roxbury, a physician, and his wife Hannah, 
Thomas Euggles of Boston, merchant, and his wife Abigail, also to 
said Thomas as attorney to William Hawkes, all her right in the 
estate of her late husband Jonathan Hawkes of Chelsea. (L. 
136, f. 106. She made her mark.) On the same day the above 
grantees conveyed to John Buckman of Boston trader and Thomas 
Lock of Chelsea, gentleman,' for £630 the farm at Chelsea. Forty 
acres of land with the house thereon were bounded E. on the road 
(School Street) ; vS. and W. on James, Stowers (formerly the 
Lewis farm) ; N. by land late of Jonathan Williams. Thirty acres 
with the barn thereon lay on the opposite side of Beach Street. 
It was bounded E. partly on land sold to Jonathan Hawkes and 
on land of Samuel Pratt; S. on the road that goes by Chelsea 
meeting house; W. on the town road (School Street) ; N". on 
Samuel Sprague. (L. 136, f. 167.) October 23 of the same year 
(1782) John Buckman and Thomas and Abigail Locke conveyed 
the same land for £700 to James Stowers of Chelsea, gentleman. 
(L. 136, f. 196.) The west bound is there given as "Mr. Yea- 
mans' heirs" (the Xewgate-Yeamans farm). Previously to this, 
October 1, 1782, Buckman and Locke had mortgaged this land 
for £360 to Thomas Puggles, who quitclaimed the same to James 
Stowers for £321 silver money September 1, 1784. It is there 
described as 45 acres west of School Street and 25 acres east 
thereof. (L. 136, f. 41; L. 146, f. 135.) When the direct tax of 
1798 was assessed, the hoiise and land were owned by James 
Stowers and occupied by his son, Samuel S. Stowers. The house 
covered 800 feet, was of two stories, had 15 windows, and was 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 11 221 

"old." There was a " Back Kitchen," which covered 253 feet and 
had 5 windows, and an out-house that covered 280 feet and had 7 
windows; both were of one story only. With an acre of land it was 
valued at $440. The barn was 30 X 30. Presumably the house 
a few rods north of the junction of School and Beach Streets, as 
given on the plan of James Stowers' estate at the end of vol. 260 
of Suffolk Deeds, was the homestead of Elisha Tuttle, father and 
son, and the tavern of Jonathan Hawkes. In 1798 there were in 
the farm 25 acres east of School Street and north of Beach Street, 
and 75 acres west of School Street. Of the latter, 55 acres were 
occupied by Samuel S. Stowers, and 20 acres by James Stowers. 
A part of this land had formerly belonged to the Lewis farm, a 
part to the Dudley farm. {Infra, Appendix 12.) Thus March 23, 
1782, Jonathan AVilliams with his wife Lydia conveyed to James 
Stowers for £71 13s. 10% acres bounded N. by Mr. Paysons; E, 
by the town way; S. by the heirs of Jonathan Hawkes; N.W. by 
said Williams. (L. 135, f. 100.) James Stowers with his wife 
Lydia conveyed to Joseph Tuckerman in 1803 for $600 six acres. 
The land was bounded E. by Salem Turnpike, W. by Moses Collins 
(the Dudley farm), S. by James Stowers and N. by 4 acres which 
Tuckerman had bought of the heirs of Phillips Payson. With 
the land was given a right of way across the farms of Moses 
Collins and Samuel Sargeant ("securing gates and bars") to the 
road to Lynn; and upon the land was entailed a right of way to 
the town road for Collins and Sargeant. (L. 204, f. 55; infra, 
chap, xix., appendix.) 

The Jonathan Tuttle Farm 

In 1689 Jonathan Tuttle received as his share of his father's 
farm land south of the great swamp (later known as the dammed 
marsh) with Elisha Tuttle on the west, John Tuttle on the east 
and the Hasey farm on the south. Jonathan Tuttle, born August 
25, 1664, married Anne daughter of Captain John and Mary 
(Bill) Smith of the Ferry farm at Winnisimmet. May 10, 1692, 
for £260 current money he conveyed title to his whole farm of 124 
acres to John Smith; 10 acres of the farm were swamp and 14 
acres vrere marshland. This conveyance was acknowledged March 
1, 1696 [1697] and recorded March 14, 1708 [1709]. (Suff. 
Deeds, L. 24, f. 136.) 

October 21, 1701, Capt. John Smith of Winnisimmet and Jon- 
athan Tuttle of Rumney Marsh for £76 conveyed to John Tuttle 
20 acres of land " to Range along the parting line between the 
Land of said John Tuttle and Jonathan Tuttle in their Divisions 



222 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

of the Upland belonging to their Fathers Farm, So that the said 
Twenty Acres of Land shall adjoin to said John Tuttles own 
Land the whole Length of the afores^ parting Divisional line, 
and butt upon the Land of Joseph Hassey on the Southerly end, 
and on the Northerly end part upon the Swamp Land formerly 
Elisha Tuttles, part upon said Jonathan Tuttles Swamp Land, 
and to Measure the same breadth throughout from One end to 
the other." John Smith and Jonathan Tuttle signed the deed; 
Anne Tuttle made her mark. (L. 23, f. 66.) Henceforth this 
land formed a part of John Tuttle's farm. 

January 12, 1702/3 the daughters of Captain John Smith 
entered into an agreement for the division of their father's estate, 
a part of which consisted of land in Boston settled by Captain 
John Smith upon his wife IVIary and her children in 16T6. In 
accord therewith Captain John Smith and Jonathan Tuttle con- 
veyed this farm and the land in Boston to Thomas Cheever, John 
Tuttle and Lt. Joseph Hasey, as trustees, March 20, 1702/3. (L. 
24, f. 137.) March 28, 1729, Jonathan and Anne Tuttle, with 
the consent of Thomas Cheever, Samuel Tuttle (the only sur- 
viving son of John Tuttle), and Jacob Hasey (the only surviving 
son of Lt. Joseph Hasey), and in order "that they may be taken 
care of in their declining Age & may have a Comfortable Main- 
tainance & Livelyhood out of the s^ farm during their Natural 
life & also for the Setling & Establishing the Jnheritance of the 
abovementioned farm after their Decease," conveyed the farm with 
the housing thereon " unto their two Eldest Sons Jonathan Tuttle 
& James Tuttle ... to be equally divided between them after 
the Decease of the s*^ Jon° Tuttle & Anne Tuttle." The sons 
were to pay to their brothers and sisters the following legacies, 
one half within six years of the decease of each parent. To 
Jotham, and Josiah, £120 each; to Anne Johnson, Mary, and 
Kebecca, £80 each ; to William "Ware, " the only Child of their 
Sister Jemimah," £80. The grantors also agreed that James 
Tuttle should " come upon the farm & into the Dwelling house 
with them to take the Care of them and to Jmprove & manage 
the farm to the best Advantage so that they may be Comfortably 
Subsisted out of the Jncomes & produce of y® s*^ Farm," etc. The 
Grantees were to pay Eebecca and Mary £20 each on their mar- 
riage. (L. 43, f. 116.) Jomimah Tuttle married William Ware 
Aug. 22, 1717; Ann, Matthew Johnson Sept. 28, 1727; Rebcckah, 
Samuel Paine Aug. 27, 1730; Mary, John Holt of Woburn 
(intention filed June 22, 1732) ; Jonathan, Sarah Burrel Jan. 
22, 1718/9; James, Ann Burrel April 6, 1721; Jotham, Martha 
Hall of Maiden, March 1, 1727; Josiah, Mary Burrel July 9, 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 11 223 

1730. (Boston Eecords.) February, 1729/30 James Tuttle of 
Kumney Marsh with his wife Anna for £300 conveyed to Jonathan 
Tuttle -iOi/o acres of upland, swamp and meadow, — the western 
portion of the farm. (L. 46, f. 167.) April 24, 1730, Jonathan 
Tuttle, Jr., of Woburn with his wife Sarah conveyed to Nathan 
Cheever of Eumney ]\Iarsh for £77 12s. bills of credit 3 acres 60 
poles bounded S. by Jacob Hasey; N. by the town road (Beach 
Street) ; E. by said Jonathan Tuttle ; and AV. by said Nathan 
Cheever. Acknowledged in Wobum June 18. (L. 57, f. 133.) 
On the same day Jonathan Tuttle, Jr., conveyed to Elisha Tuttle of 
Eumney Marsh for £224 bills of credit, 10 acres bounded W. by sd 
Elisha ; E. by sd Jonathan ; S. by the town road ; N. by laud in 
the possession of Edward Tuttle. (L. 44, f. 254.) 

June 19, 1730, Jonathan Tuttle and his wife Sarah conveyed to 
Jacob Chamberlain of Eumney Marsh for £400, 68^ acres, the 
upland bounded W. on Nathan Cheever and Elisha Tuttle; S. 
on Jacob Hasey; E. on Samuel Tuttle (son of John Tuttle); 
N. on the division line between the sv/amp and the upland. There 
were 10 acres in the swamp and 14 acres of meadow land. He 
quitclaimed all right in his father's estate, Jacob Chamberlain 
paying the legacies still unpaid. (L. 46, f. 131.) Josiah Tuttle 
of Eumney Marsh quitclaimed all rights in his father's estate on 
July 6, 1730, acknowledged July 12, 1735 (L. 51, f. 122) ; Jotham 
Tuttle of Medford with his wife Martha quitclaimed as above, 
January 26, 1731/2, acknowledged June 19, 1735 (L. 51, f. 123) ; 
Samuel Paine of Boston with his wife Eebekah quitclaimed as 
above, December 21, 1731, acknowledged June 7, 1735. (Ibid.) 
According to the account book of Samuel Watts he paid " Mary 
Holt Daughter to Jonathan Tuttle deceas'd " £20 " in p* of her 
portion," May 11, 1743. (Chamberlain MSS.) 

January 17, 1731/2 Jacob Chamberlain and his wife Abigail 
conveyed to Samuel Tuttle for £170 current money, fourteen and 
one half acres of marsh. (L. 47, f. 216.) January 12, 1713/14 
Jacob Chamberlain of Eoxbury married Abigail Hasey, daughter 
of William and Judith Hasey. (Chap. xix. appendix 1.) Eight 
acres were sold to Elisha Tuttle, and 4^/4 acres to Hugh Floyd. 
(L. 51, fp. 124, 126.) 

April 9, 1736, Abigail Chamberlain, administratrix of the estate 
of Jacob Chamberlain deceased, by order of Court December 3, 
1735, in order to pay the debts of the deceased, conveyed to Samuel 
Watts of Winnisimmet. for £805 bills of credit 41 acres. The 
upland, 35 acres, bounded S. on the Hasey farm ; N. on the divi- 
sion line between the swamp and the upland ; W. on Natlian 
Cheever and Elisha Tuttle and E. on Samuel Tuttle; Sy^ acres 



224 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

were swamp. Jonathan Tuttle, Senr., and his wife were still 
living and their rights were reserved. (L, 52, f. 217.) In 1757 
Ebenezer Hough, step-son and son-in-law of Samuel Watts, was 
tenant on the farm. JSTovember 25, 1763, Samuel Watts executed 
a deed of gift of this house and land in favor of his son Edward 
Watts, — who had married the daughter of his third wife, — to 
take effect after his death. (L. 110, f. 271.) On the death of 
Hon. Samuel Watts, his heirs were dissatisfied therewith and Jon- 
athan Green, one of the administrators, consulted with " lawyer 
Quinsey." (Ch. MSS.) In the final settlement of the estate 
this deed was ignored, and the farm was set off to William Watts 
and the heirs of Bellingham Watts, two of the sons of Hon. 
Samuel Watts. (Suff. Prob. Eec, L. 71, f. 395.) Hugh Floyd 
and Joseph Hasey were then tenants. (Ibid., ff. 295, 303.) 

June 12, 1782, the Guardians of Bellingham, Samuel and 
Hannah Watts, minor children of Bellingham and Hannah Watts 
both deceased, in accord with a permit from the court of April 20, 
1782, conveyed to William Harris of Boston yeoman for £360 
lawful money one half of a house, barn, and farm near " Chelsea 
old meeting house," — the west half of the house, the north end 
of the barn, 34 acres of upland and meadow within the dam, and 
1/4 of a pew in " Chelsea old Meeting house," on the middle aisle 
in front of Eebecca Oliver. (L. 138, ff. 87-91.) 

May 6, 1782, William Watts conveyed 14 acres 58 rods to 
James Stowers, who on March 11, 1783, conveyed the same for 
£114 18s. to William Harris of Hog Island. It was bounded N. on 
the dammed marsli, W. on Hawks, S. on William Watts ; S.E. and 
E. on the town way. (L. 135, f. 101; L. 138, ff. 91-93.) May 
2, 1783, William AVatts of Chelsea conveyed to William Harris 
of Chelsea for £21 three acres 20 poles bounded S. on Deacon 
Jacob Hasey deceased ; E. on William Harris ; N. on the road 
from Chelsea meeting-house to the garden of said Watts. The 
garden, one fourth of an acre, lay south of the road, and bounded 
E. and S. on the land here conveyed. (L. 139, f. 58.) 

June 15, 1784, William Watts of Chelsea conveyed to his son 
Benjamin Watts of Chelsea the east half of the house with half 
of the barn and some 18 acres of land. (L. 143, f. 250.) October 
6, 1785, William Watts with his wife Mary, and Benjamin Watts, 
husbandmen, of Chelsea, conveyed the same to Samuel Sewall of 
Marblehead for £52. The garden one fourth acre, and the barn 
with 4 acres adjoining, were on the south side of the road from 
the meeting-house to Point Shirley. The house stood on the north 
side of the same road. From the land north of the road three 
rods of land '' latclv sold to W™ Oliver where his house stands " 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 11 225 

were excepted. The convej'^ance was made subject to a mortgage 
executed by Benjamin Watts to Joseph Oliver to secure £65. 
(L. 151, f. 171.) Sewall conveyed ten and one half acres of 
upland north of the road to John Tukesburjr, Jr., and the remain- 
der, October 28, 1785, to William Harris. (L. 152, f. 10. See 
also Wm. Watts to Samuel Sewall, July 3, 1783, 12 acres in the 
dammed marsh. L. 144, f. 193.) When the tax of 179*8 was 
assessed William Harris owTied and occupied a farm of 681/^ 
acres bounded S. on Ebenezer Butman and John Low (the Hasey 
farm) ; E. on John Tewkesbury, Jr. (the John Tuttle farm) ; 
N. on John Low; W. on Samuel Low (land sold Elisha Tuttle 
in 1730) and Joshua Cheever (land sold Nathan Cheever in 1730). 
The house covered 1064 feet, was of two stories, had 20 windows, 
was " old,^' and with half an acre was valued at $550. His barns 
were 40 X 30 and 30 X 30; the corn barn 18 X 9. He owned 
23 acres in the dammed marsh. As has been evident from the 
foregoing descriptions the farm of Jonathan Tuttle lay east of the 
meeting house on both sides of the road to the beach. Its upland 
bounded north on what was known as the dammed marsh. The 
southern boundary was a continuation of the northern line of the 
ancient burial-ground in Revere and Franklin Avenue. In Hop- 
kins' Atlas, Plate Q, it is plotted in streets, and marked with the 
names Eevere Heights and Wm. G. Harris. 

The Jolin Tuttle Farm 

In 1689 John Tuttle received as his share of the farm of his 
father, John Tuttle, the land next the sea, with Lt. William 
Hasey's farm on the south, Jonathan Tuttle on the west, and the 
marsh on the north. The children of John and Martha Tuttle, 
as recorded at Boston, were : Sarah, born January 8, 1685/6 ; John, 
July 5, 1688; Samuel, March 20, 1691/2; Mary, Xovember 9, 
1693; Elizabeth, December 14, 1696. 6i the daughters, Sarah 
married William Hasey, third of the name. May 19, 1709; Mary 
married John Floyd, third of the name, May 27, 1712. In a deed 
dated March 28, 1729, it is stated that Samuel Tuttle was the 
only surviving son of John Tuttle. (L. 43, ff. 116, 117.) 

The will of " John Tuttle of Rumney-marish " was probated 
June 13, 1723. He gave to his wife Martha his household goods 
and negro girl Peg and all his cattle, great and small, to be at her 
dispose forever; he gave her the life use of his house and land 
in Boston, and the use of his farm and his two negroes Jack and 
James " so long as she remains my Widdow." If she married 
she was to receive an annuity of twenty pounds. At her marriage 
or death the farm, the farm implements, the wood lot in Maiden, 

VOL. I. — 15 



226 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

and two negroes Jack and James were to descend to his son 
Samuel, and " tlie heirs of his body lawfully begotten." Samuel 
was to pay £200 in money to each of his sisters, Sarah and Mary, 
within eight years after the widow's death. John Tuttle gave 
to his two daughters his house and land in Boston after his 
wife's death. lie named his wife executrix as long as she 
remained his widow. The will is in the handwriting of Kev. 
Thomas Cheever, and the preamble is obviously his, as it appears 
in many Rumney Marsh wills. The probate of the will was before 
Judge Samuel Sewall, and the record thereof is characteristically 
interesting: "Thomas Cheever & Nathan Cheever . . . declared 
upon Oath that the Testator was of sound disposing mind & 
memory according to theire best discerning, but Elisha Tuttle 
the other Witness declared that he could not say but the Testator 
was of Sound mind, but was not free to swear that he was of 
Sound mind & memory." (Suff. Prob. Files, No. 4758.) 

Samuel Tuttle married Abigail Floyd, daughter of John Floyd, 
second of the name, Dec. 3, 1713. The children of Samuel 
and Abigail Tuttle as recorded at Chelsea were: Elizabeth, born 
1718-23d day-lOth month; Abigail, 1721-7-11; Tabitha, 
1724-8-7;. Samuel, 1726-9-3; John, 1728-16-10; Marv^ 1731- 
28-12. Samuel Tuttle died Jan. 18, 1742, aged 50 years 10 
months. (Gravestone.) Sept. 7, 1742, Abigail Tuttle was ap- 
pointed administratrix of the estate of her husband, Samuel 
Tuttle of Chelsea, husbandman, deceased. (Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 36, 
ff. 137, 138; L. 40, f. 191.) August 1, 1749, John Hasey and 
Samuel Hasey of Leicester, Worcester County, quitclaimed to 
Samuel Tuttle all the real or personal estate of said Samuel 
Tuttle's father, Samuel Tuttle deceased, and of his grandfather 
John Tuttle, that is, all rights which they might have to legacies 
bequeathed " to our late mother Sarah Ilasey deceased " by the 
will of said John Tuttle. (L. 79, f. 185.) The consideration to 
John Hasey was £230 old tenor bills; to Samuel Hasey £80. 
April 16, 1752, Sarah Tuttle of Lynn, widow of Samuel Tuttle, 
Jr., late of Chelsea, quitclaimed to " John Tuttle Junr. of Chel- 
sea " for £137 silver, her right of dower in her late husband's 
estate. (L. 82, f. 119.) Tiie intention of marriage of Samuel 
Tuttle, Jr., of Chelsea and Sarah Mansfield of Lynn was filed 
March 17, 1751. The term junior was applied to John Tuttle, 
doubtless because a cousin John, two years his senior, grandson 
of Edward and Abigail Tuttle, was living also in Chelsea. In 
1752, Jonathan Belcher of Chelsea and his wife Elizabeth, Thomas 
Searjeant of Leicester, Worcester County, and his wife Tabitha, 
and Samuel Viall of Lynn, tanner, and his wife Mar}', quit- 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX II 227 

claimed to their brother John Tuttle of Chelsea, yeoman, their 
claim to the estates of their wives' grandfather John Tuttle, 
father Samuel Tuttle, and brother Samuel Tuttle, Jr., all yeomen 
of Chelsea, and all deceased. (Suff. Deeds, L. 82, if. 38-40.) 

The intention of marriage of John Tuttle and Mary Burrell 
of Lynn was filed at Chelsea, August 25, 1752. The children of 
John and Mary Tuttle recorded at Chelsea were: Samuel, born 
1753 -2d day -11th month; John, 1756-18-4; Ebenezer, 
1758-4-7; Burril, 1760-5-8 (John, Ebenezer, and Burrell 
were bapt. Oct. 18, 1761); Mary, 1762-2-10, bapt. Dec. 5, 
1762; Ezra, bapt. Xov. 10, 1765. 

May 10, 1753, John Tuttle with Abigail his mother, and Mary 
his wife, conveyed for £419 Is. 4(1. to Samuel Watts title to 
dl acres 31 rods including the highway which runs through the 
upland (the road from Chelsea meeting-house to Pullen Point), 
Of these, 461^ acres were upland ; 44% acres were meadow. The 
land bounded S. on the Hasey farm ; W. on upland of said Watts 
(the Jonathan Tuttle farm), on meadow of Isaac Lewis (sold by 
Elisha Tuttle), and on the creek; N. on meadow of said Watts, 
Isaac Lewis, and John Floyd ; E. on upland and meadow of John 
Tuttle. Xo mention was made of buildings. May 11, 1757, 
Samuel Watts mortgaged this land to Jane Boucher of Boston 
for £207; the mortgage was released April 3, 1775. (L. 83, f. 
155; L. 90, f. 92.) Nov. 20, 1754, John Tuttle mortgaged 
10 acres east of this land, bounded S. by the widow Hasey and 
his own land E. and X. (L. 86, f. 58.) On May 10, 1754, 
Abigail Tuttle widow and John Tuttle yeoman with his wife 
Mary convej'ed to Nathan Cheever for £61 2s. 10 acres 33 rods 
of salt marsh bounded on the beach, a creek, etc. (L. 109, f. 36.) 
June 10, 1757, William Maycock obtained by writ of execution 
against John Tuttle of Chelsea, coaster, administrator of the es- 
tate of Samuel Tuttle deceased, 25 acres bounded N.W. by Samuel 
Watts (Ebenezer Hough, tenant), the line beginning on the N. 
side of the " Cate which stands upon the Road leading through 
the Laud of the said Watts & the Land in possession of the said 
John Tuttle as you commonly go to Point Shirley"; thence it 
ran, by a partition fence and ditch running N.E. to the partition 
fence between John Floyd and said Tuttle; thence S.E. or E. by 
said fence " untill you come to the Beach leading to said Floyd's 
House, and from thence Southerly upon the said Poad " till it came 
to the road leading to Point Shirley; thence northwest on the 
northerly side of the " Road leading Westerly to Chelsea Meeting 
House " to the aforesaid gate. The land was appraised at £63 
by Elisha Tuttle, chosen by the creditor's attorney (Benjamin 



228 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

Kent), Daniel Tiittle, chosen by John Tuttle, and Xathaniel 
Hasey, chosen by the sheriff. (L. 91, f. 251.) But John Tuttle 
did not lose definitively complete ownership in these lands. 

November 2d, 1756, John Tuttle with his mother Abigail and his 
wife Mary conveyed to Thomas Hills of Maiden for £189 6s. 8d. 
3514 acres of tillage, pasture, and mowing land. It lay southwest 
of the road from the meeting house to Pullen Point, and bounded 
northwest on Samuel Watts; southwest on land late of Jacob 
Hasey and William Hasey both deceased, measuring on that line 
80 rods 23 links from the corner of said Watts' land to a heap 
of stones nigh to the bank next the marsh. Thence the line ran N. 
131/2° E. 241/2 rods to a stake; N. 341/2° E. 27 rods to a stake; N. 
62° W. 22 rods " to the middle of the Great Spring " ; N. 19° W. 39 
rods to a stake on the southwest side of the road from Chelsea Meet- 
ing House to the Beach; N. 5914° W. to a stake at the fence divid- 
ing land of said Watts from the premises. Liberty was given of 
" passing out of the Way that leads to the said W™ Hasey's late 
Landing Place into the said demised Premises" at the northeast 
corner of the same. (L. 89, f. 253. See also L. 100, f. 127.) 
August 12, 1762, John Tuttle with his wife Mary and his motlicr 
Abigail conveyed to Thomas Hills of Maiden for £60 nine acres 
of upland and marsh. The east boundary line passed " through 
the house between the old house & new," and " thro' the middle 
of the barn floor." To the south lay the marsh of Hasey and of 
Esquire Green; to the west Hills' own land. (L. 106, f. 130.) 
Aug. 13, 1762, the same grantees conveyed to Thomas Hills one 
half of 42 acres lying north of the road, and one half of two 
parcels of marsh. (L. 106, f. 129.) 

September 17, 1772, Thomas Hills conveyed the above to Dr. 
Humphrey Devereaux of Marblehead, physician. On the same day 
John Tuttle with his wife Mary conveyed to Dr. Devereaux for 
£173 6s. 8(1. " The whole of my place or farm I now live on in 
Chelsea." (1) Five acres of upland and marsh bounding north " on 
the Town road leading to Pullen Point ... to the beach " ; east 
" on said Towns road and the beach " ; south on lands of Thomas 
Hills of Maiden, and on marsh held by John Tuttle and Thomas 
Hills; west on said Hills. The western boundary line passed 
through the farm, and " through the house between the old part 
and the new." (2) one-half of 42 acres of upland and marsh north 
of the same road, the west boundary running from the gate on the 
town road as the fence ran down into the dammed marsh ending 
with a ditch. H bounded north on the dammed marsh of the heirs 
of Samuel Watts by a ditch; then west on the same by a ditch; 
then north on lands of John Flovd '" as the fence stands over the 



CiiAP. VI] APPENDIX 11 220 

ridge t© the beach " ; then east on the beach to the town road. (3) 
and (4) two small lots in the marsh. (L. 122, ff. 56, 58.) In 
1790 the daughter of Humphrey Devereaux mortgaged this farm; 
it was then in the occupation of Joseph Cheever. Fifty-four and 
tliree fourths acres of upland and marsh lay south of the road to 
Pullen Point, and bounded west on land of the heirs of Samuel 
Watts, occupied by William Harris; south on Jacob Hasey de- 
ceased, and heirs of Ezra Green Esqr. to a small creek in the 
marsh; thence on said creek, land of the widow Hasey lying to 
the south, to marsh of Kathan Cheever; thence on said Cheever 
to Chelsea Beach. On the east, northeast, and north was the beach, 
and the town road to Pullen Point. Forty-two acres of upland 
and marsh lay north of the road. (L. 168, f. 159.) 

December 21, 1795, Samuel and Abigail Sewall of Marblchead 
(she being the daughter of Dr. Devereaux) conveyed to John 
Tuxbury, Jr., of Chelsea for $4000 the above described farm with 
some 26 acres additional in the dammed marsh, and lO^/o acres of 
upland. The latter, conveyed by AYilliam and Benjamin Watts 
to Samuel Sewall Oct. 6, 1785, bounded south on the road and 
north on the dammed marsh, and lay between the farm of William 
Harris, and the parcel of 42 acres above described. (L. 182, f. 39.) 
When the direct tax of 1798 was assessed, John Tewkesbury, Jr., 
owned and occupied a farm of 127 acres valued at $2145. It was 
bounded south by Barnard Green and Mrs. Kent (the Hasey 
farm) ; west by William Harris; north by Hugh Floyd and others; 
east by the beach. The house, described as " one Verry old 
House" 50 X 20, was valued at $50. The barn was 60 X 30. 

The boundarA?- between this farm and the Hasey farm was 
Franklin Avenue with its extension, and the creek which on 
Hopkins' Atlas formed the north and east boundary of marsh be- 
longing to Hart, formerly to Jacob Hasey. The marsh of Wilkin- 
son and of W. T. Hall belonged apparently to the Tuttle farm; 
that of J. 0. Young certainly to the Hasey and Lewis farms. In 
1690 Edward, Elisha, and Jonathan Tuttle sold to Capt. John 
Smith salt-marsh at the southeastern corner of their father's farm. 
Joseph and Josiah Bill acquired this, and in 1729 Joseph con- 
veyed a parcel, apparently with the same bounds but estimated as 
ten acres, to Samuel Tuttle. (L. 28, It. 255-258; L. 30, f. 81; 
L. 34, ff. 221, 250 ; L. 43, f. 175.) Presumably this was the marsh 
sold to Nathan Cheever in 1754. (L. 109, f. 36.) For the title 
from Cheever to Wilkinson and to Hall, see L. 183, f. 40; L. 894, 
f. 243; L. 335, f. 164; L. 931, f. 101; etc.) ] 



230 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 



APPEXDIX 12 

The Cole Farm 

The Cole allotment comprising upland and marsh (the latter 
valuable for grass which it produced perennially without the cost 
of cutting down forests and clearing upland) was a large estate 
reaching from the beach on the east to the present county road 
on the west. Its south boundary was the Xewgate farm in small 
part, but chiefly the creek. It included the old church land, the 
burial ground adjacent, and the Harris farm. The Pullen Point 
road ran through it. [Franklin Avenue and the north line of the 
old burial-ground mark the northern boundary of the farm. The 
Harris farm and the Pullen Point road from the church comer 
were not within its limits. The meeting-house built in IT 10 stood 
at the point where the Tuttle and Cole farms joined, and title to 
the land was conveyed by Elisha Tuttle and the heirs of Lieutenant 
Joseph Hasey by deed dated October 6, IT 10.^ Whether this is the 
site of the present meeting-house or not is uncertain.- To the west 
the Cole farm extended beyond Broadway to the Xewgate fann, 
that is nearly as far to the west of Broadway as Beach Street lie§ 
to the east. It included the lands of X. Berry and of T. Gay 
on the plan of the Yeamans farm in Suff. Deeds. L. 525, f. 305.] 
May 20. 1645, Cole bought of Valentine Hill a part of his allot- 
ment.^ [This land was on the Boston peninsula.] 

March 24, 1653/4, Samuel Cole and his wife Margaret, sold to 
William Halsey (sometimes Hake, Halsie. Hasey. Hasie. Hassy, 
Haseye and Hazzy: the later form was Hasey) of Pullen Point 
" All that their farme house Cottage or tent scittuate lying and 
being in Rumney marshe . . . Except and allwaies reserued out of 
the said d^Tnised p'"misses w^ their App'^tenncs vnto the said 
Samuell Cole his heires executo"^ and Assignes Gone Six pte of 
the sd Bargained p^'misses w^? y* App^'teiiiics And all so tenne 
Acres of vpland ground tS: Six Acres of meadow or marshe Ex- 
cepted vnto Edmond Grosse of Boston.*' * 

* Suff. Deeds, L. 33, f. 244. 

^ Supra. Appendix 11; infra, chaps, xxvi, xxvii. 
' Suff. Deetls. L. 1, f. 59. 

* Ibid., L. 2, f. 4. 



Chap. Yl] APPENDIX 12 231 

October 26, 1653, Cole sold to Edmond and Mary Jackson 
(daughter of Cole) "all that dwelling house lately purchased of 
will jam Halsey " in Boston.^ Halser's deed of this estate is dated 
August 24, 165-4.'^ From this deed it may be inferred that at 
one time he lived in Boston. These dates seem discrepant; they 
are from the deeds as printed. [Presumably the conveyance .first 
mentioned should read October 26, 1654, as on that date both 
deeds were aclaiowledged. In 1645 Lynn, in petitioning for aji 
abatement of taxes, mentioned that many who had paid heavy 
taxes had removed from the town, — among others " Wm Halsey," 
whose tax had been £1." Possibly this refers to William Halsey of 
Pullen Point. The first authentic information is that given by 
his daughter, Esther Green. She wrote '' J was Born at Puling 
Point in the Year 1650 the 20*^^ Day of March. T\Tien J was 
four or five Years old mv Father Eemoved his Family to Eumnv 
Marish."] » . ' 

In Cole's deed to Halsey, as above, are reservations to Edmond 
Grosse. April 3, 1665, Isaack Grosse [son of Edmond] having 
purchased the interest [of his sister] in these reserved lands, con- 
veyed them to Halsey.^ 

William Hasey (for so the name came and continued to be 
written) was bom about 1619 and lived in Boston. He was of the 
Artillery- Company in 1652, freeman as " W™ Hazzey" in 1665. 
He died May 30, 1689, and lies buried in "the Wakefield grave- 
yard.^'' [^i-SiX 2'i', 16T4. Cornet William Hasey was confirmed as 
Lieutenant of the Three County Troop, and was in command 
thereof when it was called into action in June, 16T5. He mar- 
ried Judith, widow of Captain Jonathan Poole of Eeading, May 
16, 1681. He was one of the trustees for that town in the Indian 
deed September 4, 1686." In 1686 John Tuttle appointed Lieut. 
W™ Harsay, then of Eeading, an overseer of his will.] 

By Sarah he had William (2) born Sept. 15, 1652 ; Asa, Jan. 1, 
1654/5; Joseph, Mav 29. 1657; Susanna, May 30, 1660; and 
Martha, baptized April 24, 1664.^2 [Martha died May 4, 1676, 
aged twelve years, and was buried on Copp's Hill.] Phineas 

' SufiF. Deeds, L. 3, f. 502. 

' Ibid. 

' Lewis and Xewhall. Lynn (ed. 1865), 214. 

* X. E. Gen. Reg., liv. 211. 

» Suff. Deeds. L. 4, f. 285. 

'* Bodge, Soldiers in King Philip's War, 276. [The in.scription on his 
gravestone is printed in X. E. Hist, and Gen. Reg., xxxv. 86.] 
" Eaton, Reading, 31, 688. 
" Bodge, 276. 



232 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

Sprague of Maiden married Sarah Hasey, Jan. 5, 1669/70, and 
ITenry Green of Maiden married Esther Hasse, Jan. 11, 1671/2, 
but I have not learned their parentage.^^ [Mrs. Esther Green 
wrote that she was the daughter of William and Sarah Hase}^ and 
the wife of Henry Green.'* March 9, 1G49/50 " Sara Harsey y« 
wife of W^ Harsey '"' was admitted to the Boston church, and on 
March 23, 1651/2 Elizabeth, Sarah and Hester, daughters of 
"• William Ilersy's wife " were baptized.] 

William (2) Hasey married Judith [daughter of Richard and 
]\Iartha (Appleton) Jacobs of Ipswich before Xov. 12, 1675, as 
on that date Mrs. Judith Hacy was given a letter of recom- 
mendation from the church at Ipswich to the Second or North 
Church in Boston.'" Her brother Nathaniel Jacobs mentioned 
in his will Nov. 4, 1688, his "sister, Judith Hasey.'"° W"' 
Hassey was admitted to the North Church April 14, 1678.] They 
had William (3), born Dec. 21, 1679; Jacob, Aug. 26, 1684; 
Nathaniel, March 13, 1692 ; and there was a Judith, an Abigail, 
and a Martha. [The baptisms at the North Church were: Wil- 
liam, Feb. 8, 1679/80; Martha, June 11, 1682; Jacob, Aug. 31, 
1687; Judith, Dec. 8, 1689; Nathanael, April 24, 1692; Abiel, 
Oct. 20, 1695.] William died June 7, 1695, and his widow Nov. 
17, 1718, aged about 68. 

Asa, son of William and Sarah, was an original member of the 
church gathered at Eumney Marsh October 19, 1715, of which Eev. 
Thomas Chcever was pastor. [Asa Hasey of the Kumney Marsh 
church was the son of Lieutenant Joseph Hasey, and grandson 
of William and Sarah Hasey.''] 

Joseph, son of William and Sarah, and his brother William 
appear to have had the larger part of the Cole allotment. He was 
known as Lieutenant Joseph Hasey, and died June 28, 1707. See 
in volume ii, the Green house, which may have been the original 
Hasey house, as it certainly stands (1892) on the original Hasey 
estate. 

Abigail, daughter of William and Judith, was the wife of Jacob 
Chamberlain, the first of the name in this country to whom the 
writer of this history can trace his ancestry. 

" [Wyman.] 

" N. E. Gen. Reg., liv. 211. 

" 4 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc, viii. 288. 

" Essex County Hist, and Gen. Reg., i. 164, 165. 

" Infra, p. 233; also Suff. Deeds, L. 33, f. 244. 



Chap. VI] 'APPENDIX 12 233 



The Hasey Farm 

[A conveyance dated March 13, 1689/90 recites that " William 
Hercy late of Kumly Marsh . . . yeoman" died leaving a farm of 
190 acres of land, marsh and upland, that " his two sons William 
and Joseph lining upon s4 farme and haueing agreed with theire 
Sisters and payd them theire portions . . . did agree w* William 
Johnson Esqr to deuide the same as equally as he Could the which 
was dunn to our Content upon the twenty seauenth day of Nouem- 
ber 1689," and was " layd doune in a platt giuen to us under the 
hand of said AYilliam Johnson." In accordance therewith Joseph 
Hasey confirmed to his brother William Hasey 95 acres of his 
father's farm, including four parcels of marsh. The upland was 
bounded N. by "Land that was formerly M^" Edward Tuttls"; 
N. and W. by Joseph Hercy ; S. by " Land of M'^' Nugats also 
by a Crick of Saltwater " ; E. " partly by the marsh that is Joseph 
Hercys." Of the four parcels of marsh, one lay southwards of 
the said William's house; another, at the S.E. corner of his 
land ; a third, " northward of the long beach " ; a fourth ad- 
joined Joseph Hercy's marsh on the S.E. The roads then in use 
through the farm were to continue. ^^ Joseph Hasey's land was, 
therefore, the northwestern part of his father's farm abutting 
westerly on the present Mill and Beach streets; northerly on 
Franklin Avenue and its extension to Beach Street. On Hopkins' 
Atlas it included the land north of IJailroad Street accredited 
to William T. Hall, J. Harrington, etc., S. E. Hart, and Hopkins 
and Hichborn. William Hasey's estate included the land of the 
Eastern R. E. between Winthrop and Eailroad streets; and the 
upland east of the railroad between the land of Joseph Hasey, 
as above defined, and the creek and Eevere Beach, including 
about 17 acres which belonged later to the North Shore Land 
Company. 

Lt. Joseph (3) Hasey, younger son of William (1) and Sarah 
Hasey, had by his wife Hannah: Sarah, born Sept. 13, 1681 ; Asa, 
Aug. 14, 1683; Abraham, 1685; Elizabeth, born March 28, 1688, 
married April 4, 1716, Jonathan Sprague;^** Hannah, married 
May 10, 1705, by Eev. Thomas Cheever to John Chamberline; 
Jacob. His wife died Aug. 18, 1693, and he married Jan. 12, 
1693/4, Hannah (Waite) Buckman (born in Maiden Sept. 9, 

" Original deed in Chamberlain MSS., iv. 27. The signature is " Joseph 
Hasey." It is recorded in Suff. Deeds, L. 35, f. 234. 
" Vital Records of Boston; Suff. Deeds, L. 2G, f. 253. 



234 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

1656), widow of William Buckman of Malden.^o In 1706 the 
town of Lynn chose a committee of three, one from Salem, one 
from Maiden, and Joseph Hasey of Eumney Marsh, to divide 
the common lands of the town.^^ The widow of Joseph Hasey 
married John Bancroft of Lynn, Nov. 18, 1708. 

September 8, 1707, letters of administration were issued to 
" Hannah Hasey Widow & Abraham Hasey Son of Joseph Hasey 
late of Winnisimett Husbandman deced." ^^ December 18, 1708, 
John and Hannah Chamberlain of Maiden quitclaimed to her 
brother Abraham Hasey her fight in the estate of Lieutenant 
Joseph Hasey deceased, and in the housing and lands which their 
mother Hannah Bancroft gave them. They also agreed if their 
said mother needed more than her thirds for her support they would 
share the expense. This M^as acknowledged March 9, 1712/13. 
November 8, 1710, Elizabeth Hasey executed a similar deed.-^ 
March 3, 1712/13, Hugh Floyd, John Tuttle, Edward Tuttle, Ed- 
ward Tuttle, Jr., William Hasey, and Daniel Flovd, all of Eumney 
Marsh, "being Desired by Asa Hasey," certified to the Probate 
Court that the " Estate in Lands of which Lieu*^. Joseph Hasey 
dyed Seized " was " not Capable of a Division amongst the Chil- 
dren of the said Lieu*. Hasey without great prejudice to the s? 
Estate, nor can a husbandman be Subsisted long out of the Estate 
when divided, the charge of firing, & fencing will in a little time 
Eat them out, and their Accommodations will be so very small & 
penned up without any Outlet for any part of their Stock, so that 
in a little time the said Estate will be likely to become a charge 
to the Town, instead of bearing any part of Town charges." Lender 
appointment by the Judge of Probate, Jeremiah Belcher, Elisha 
Tuttle, and Thomas Berry, all of Eumney Marsh, then appraised 
the landed estate, — the farm at Eumney Marsh with all the 
buildings thereon, £500; lands in Maiden, £110. The farm was 
settled upon the eldest son, Asa, ("Saving imto his Mother MV^ 
Hannah Bancroft, formerly Hasey, Admin^ to the Estate of her 
late husband the s^ Joseph Hasey, her Eight of Dower therein 
for term of Life) he the said Asa Hasey paying unto his Brothers 
and sisters Namely Abraham Hasey Jacob Hasey Hannah Chani- 
berlayn and Elizabeth Hasey," £67 15s. 6i/^c?. each within six 

«» Middlesex Deeds, L. 14, f. 668; L. 10, f. 294. Assistance has been 
received from William P. Greenlaw in compiling genealogical items re- 
garding the Hasey family. 

" Lewis and Newhall, Lynn (ed. 1865), 306-308. 

'^ Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 10, f. 330. His estate was appraised at £904 : 1 : 1. 
Jhid., ff. 449, 472. 

=« Suff. Deeds, L. 27, flf. 61, 62; see also L. 26, f. 253. 



CiiAP. VI] APPENDIX 12 235 

months, and on the death of their said mother £33 17s. 9d. 
farthing.-* 

Abraham (3) Hasey died Jan. 17, 1713/14, aged 27.-^ Feb. 10, 
1708/9, he married Abigail Witt, and had one child Abigail, born 
March 19, 1709/10; married Feb. 5, 1733/4, Nathaniel Paine 
of Maiden. Abigail Hasey of Maiden, widow of Abraham H^sey, 
was admitted to the church at llumney Marsh July 6, 1718; she 
married Thomas Wayte, Jr., Jan. 10, 1723.-*^ 

August 8, 1716, Asa Hasey of Eumney Marsh and his wife Mary 
conveyed to his brother Jacob Hasey of Eumney Marsh for £257 
10s. one half of the estate of their father. Lieutenant Joseph Hasey, 
— that is, the west end of the dwelling-house and the leanto behind 
it " Except the East End of the Leanto Chamber over the but- 
tery" etc; the south end of the barn with the stable; the south 
end of the orchard; the south side of the field bounded S. & W. by 
the "Land in Chamberlins Improvement" (the Newgate-Shrimp- 
ton farm of which their brother-in-law, John Chamberlain was 
tenant) and E, by William Hasey; the "Easterly part of the 
pasture Containing about Twenty Eight Acres," bounded E. and 
S. by W^m. Hassy, N. by Deacon Tuttle and Jonathan Tuttle, 
W. by Asa Hasey, — the west line running across " the Spring 
gutter below the head of the Spring"; also 1 acre 89 poles near 
the meeting-house bounded N". by the meeting-house land, W. 
by the highway, E. by Asa Hasey, and S. by a piece of land around 
the house and barn that was to lie in common. The latter con- 
tained 122 poles, and was bounded S. by the orchard and W. by 
the highway. He also granted him " an highway of a rod Wide 
along by MF Tuttles Land if that way be made feazible for a Cart 
to pass otherwise to have Libertie for a Cart to go in some other 
part of his land." This lane would have led to and past the 
ancient graveyard. The deed conveyed also the north end of the 
" Cow Marsh," about four acres near Eevere Beach, with W^ 
Hassy at the N". end of the west line, and the beach at the S. end 
of the line, Deacon Tuttle north, a creek east, and Asa Hasey 
south ; also 10 acres in the " great Marsh " bounded N. " by the 
beach between William Hassys Marsh and theirs," E. and W. by 
marsh of Asa Hasey, S. by a creek etc, ; also land in Maiden. It 
was agreed that Jacob should have the benefit of the beach against 
his part of the meadow, and the " Sedg Jsland if he can recover it 
lying between the West point of x\sas Marsh & the Marsh in 

" Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 18, f. 69. 
*"* Gravestone at Revere. 
*' Vital Records of Maiden. 



23G HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

John ffloyds Jmprovement." The hitter was the Sale farm.-^ 
'• Their Mothers Thirds durcing her life " were excepted.'^ 

April 9, 1723, Jacob Hasey bought of Asa Hasey " for a house 
lot " 51/2 acres of the " land left by their father L*. Joseph Hassy," 
bounded E. by said Jacob, W. by said Asa, S. by William Hasey, 
N. '" by an old Ditch "' and by a marked line to a post on the X. 
side of the " Spring Gutter " ; also land in Maiden.-*^ On the same 
day Jacob (with liis wife Abigail) conveyed to Asa Hasey his share 
in the dwelling house, the old barn and the leanto adjoining; 
and in the common land of the homestead; also his part of the 
orchard; and the little pasture of 1 acre 89 poles "between the 
Dwelling house and the Meeting house " ; also 1 acre in the field 
conmionly called Parker's field on the N. side of sd Jacob's land, 
a strip of land three rods wide extending the whole length of 
the field ; also land in Maiden which formerly belonged to Deacon 
John Green. The signature of Jacob was sworn to by the wit- 
nesses, Elisha Tuttle and Thomas Waite, at the January Court, 
1726/7; recorded January 5, 1736/7.^^ Jacob Hasey resigned the 
right of way next the Tuttle farm " from the ]\Ieeting house land 
to the land of said Jacob Hasye," provided for in 1716, and 
received a right of way from the Si/o acre lot to the town highway 
" near Asa Hassys Barn." 

Asa (3) Hasey was married to Mary Walton of Eeading by 
Rev. Thomas Cheever, May 18, 1714. Their children were Joseph, 
born Oct. 7, 1715; Hannah, born Dec. 11, 1716, married March 
21, 1733/4 Ebenezer Kendall; Abraham, born April 13, 1718. 
Asa Hasey Joined the North Churcli in Boston Oct. 10, 1714, 
and was dismissed at the founding of the church at Eumney 
Marsh. In 1719, when he acknowledged the deed of the church 
plot, he was blind. He died November 12, 1725, aged 42.^^ By will 
dated November 10, 1725, and probated January 7, 1725/6, he gave 
to his wife Mary a legacy of £30 and " the whole Jncome of my 
Estate so long as she* remains ray widow," if she married, the 
income from one half thereof for life; to his daughter Hannah 
four acres of salt marsh, bounded N. by Wm. Hasey, S. by Col. 
Townsend and E. by Jacob Hasey, also a reversionary right in 
the estate if either of her brothers died without issue; to his sons, 
Joseph and Abraham, all the remainder of his estate.^^ 

" See letter of John Sale, April 30, 1783. in Appendix 13. 
^ Suflf. Deeds, L. 34, f. 27; acknowledged June 18, 1719; recorded 
June 19. 

^ Ibid., L. 40, f. 199. 

™ Ibid., L. 40, f. 239; acknowledged and recorded February 3, 1726/7. 

" Gravestone. 

« Suff. Prob. Rec., L. 24, ff. 307, 309; Inventory, L. 26, f. 548. 



CiiAP. VI] APPENDIX 12 237 

August 10, 1737, Joseph Hasey was married to Elizabeth Kitchen 
by Samuel Watts, J. P. Four children were recorded at Chelsea, 
— Mary, born 1739-25th day-lst month ( ?) ; Elizabeth, 1741- 
23-1 ( ?) ; Jacob, 1744-19^[ ] ; Hannah, 17-17-14-[4], died 
July 18, 1748, aged 1 year 3 mos. 4 days.^'^ 

June 20, 1739, Ebenezer and Hannah Kendall conveyed to John 
Hasey of Chelsea the abovesaid four acres of salt marsh, describing 
it as bounded E. by saltmarsh of Jacob Hasey to a creek between 
said marsh and John Sale's farm, W. by said creek to Wm. Hasey's 
marsh, IST. by the beach that is between Wm. Hasey's marsh and 
said parcel.^'* John Hasey was the son of William and Judith 
Hasey. He sold the marsh to the town of Chelsea. For many 
years it was known as the town's marsh; and was sold by the town 
to James Pitts. 

April 2, 1740, Mary Hasey of Cambridge, widow of Asa Hasey 
late of Boston, quitclaimed to her sons Joseph and Abraham for 
£300 her right in her husband's estate. ^^ April 4, 1740, Joseph 
Hasey of Chelsea, blacksmith, Abraham Hasey of Cambridge, 
and Ebenezer Kendall, husbandman, with Hannah his wife, con- 
veyed to Samuel Watts for £640 twenty acres of orchard, pasture 
and mowing land bounded jST. by land which they sold to Jacob 
Hasey by deed of even date; W. and S.W. by the Town Eoad 
that leads down to the mills and landing place ; S. by land of 
Jacob Hasey; E. b}^ land of William Hasey and Jacob Hasey; 
also 3I/2 acres of salt-marsh. Elizabeth, wife of Joseph Hasey, 
and Jemima, wife of Abraham Hasey, released their rights of 
dower.^** Feb. 7, 1772, the Executors of the estate of the Hon. 
Samuel Wa'tts Esqr. conveyed this land, then estimated to contain 
19 acres, 13 rods, with a barn thereon, for £158 6s. 8d. to James 
Stowers, Jr. It was bounded E. and S. on the heirs of Deacon 
Jacob Hasey deceased, and on land in the improvement of Robert 
Temple Esqr. and William Eow; W. and N.W. on the road from 
the grist mills to the meeting-house ; N. on a lane, — presumably 
the road to Jacob Hasey's house as provided for in the deed of 
1723.^^ This lane, straightened and widened, became Winthrop 
Avenue. The land lay between the present Winthrop Avenue 
and Railroad (or Vinal) Street, and was bounded west by Beach 
and Mill streets. It appears on the plan of James Stowers' estate 
drawn by Peter Tufts, Jr., in 1817.='« 

^ Gravestone. 

^* Suff. Deeds, L. 71, f. 149. 

'' Ibid., L. 59, f. 118. 

^ Ibid., L. C4, f. 1,58. 

" Ibid., L. 121, f. 46; original in Chamberlain IMSS., iv. 75. 

^ Suff. Deeds, L. 260, end. 



238 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

Joseph Hasey et ah, as above, April 4, 17-iO, conveyed to Jacob 
Ilasey of Chelsea, 3-eoman, for £640 in bills of credit, 23 'acres of 
pasture and arable land with a house and barn thereon. The 
land was bounded S. on land sold to Samuel Watts Esquire by deed 
of even date and on said Jacob; E. on said Jacob; IST. on said 
Watts (the Jonathan Tuttle farm) and Nathan Cheever and 
Elisha Tuttle; W. on the road. A right of way for William 
Hasey was reserved. The deed also conveyed 3I/2 acres of marsh, 
and woodland in Maiden."*^ July 22, 1740, Jacob Hasey of 
Chelsea for £600 Bills of Credit conveyed to Joshua Cheever Esq. 
of Boston (son of Rev. Thomas Cheever of Rumney Marsh) 19 
acres of pasture and arable land with a house and barn thereon, 
bounded S. by Samuel Watts Esqr., a " Board fenCe now Standing 
on the South Side of a Priviledge-Way " bounding it there, and 
by said Hasey; E. by said Hasey, — the line to run north to 
other land of said Watts and " just to the Eastward of the Burying 
place," — N. by said Watts and Nathan Cheever ; W. by the 
road ; he excepted the rights of way of William and Jacob Hasey ; 
he granted tlie privilege of " Watering Creatures at a large Spring 
which is in my land a few Rods to the Southeastward " of the 
land here granted, and of using a spot below the spring for water- 
ing hemp and flax, also of draining the said premises through 
the land of the said Hasey. He conveyed 3i'2 acres of marsh; 
also woodland in Maiden. (Suff. Deeds, L. 59, f. 186.) Joshua 
Cheever of Boston by will dated October 20, 1750, and probated 
December 18, 1751, gave this house in Chelsea with land and marsh 
bought of Deacon Jacob Hasey to his wife Sarah, her heirs and 
assigns. He made one limitation therefrom, — " Item, The Bury- 
ing Ground in my Land at Chelsea I give the same to the said 
Town forever, for that use only with so much more Land contig- 
uous as shall be necessary for that nse, w*^ a Convenient Way to 
Carry their Dead to said Burying Ground, reserving to my Heirs, 
Executors, Admors & Assignes forever the Herbage." (Suff. Prob. 
Eec., L. 45, f. 601.) This refers to the ancient burial-ground of 
Revere mentioned in the deed from Hasey to Cheever in 1740, 
and marked on Hopkins' Atlas of 1874. Sarah Cheever's son, 
David Jenkins of Boston, conveyed the farm to William Low of 
Chelsea for £173 6s. M.., June 17, 1761,-18 acres "with the 
Dwelling House Barn and Buildings." The land was bounded S. 
on Samuel Watts Esq. and Widow Hasey by a bending line measur- 
ing 761/2 rods; E. on Widow Hasey 371/2 rods; N. on said Watts 
and N. Cheever 541/2 rods; W. on the road 48I/2 rods; with 

'» L. 117, f. 82; recorded June 13, 1770. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 12 239 

the same privileges found in the previous deeds. The right of 
way to the heirs of William and Jacob Hasey followed " the 
Southerly line or crooked side '' of the premises " thro Gates or 
Barrs." There was also reserved, in accord with the will of 
Joshua Cheever, " a convenient privilege in the same Land to the 
Town of Chelsea for burial of the dead." The deed conveyed 3i/^ 
acres of marsh; also woodland in Maiden. (Suff. Deeds, L. 96, f. 
143.) Feb. 10, 1832, the heirs of John Low quitclaimed to the 
Selectmen of Chelsea their rights in the burying ground, situated at 
the N.E. corner of their land, " the right of herbage having been 
vested in us " ; also the passageway to it as heretofore established. 
It was then defined as bounded N. by the heirs of Wm. Harris de- 
ceased (the Jonathan Tuttle farm) 8 rods; E. by lands of Mrs. 
Chadwick and others (heirs of Jacob Hasey) 12 rods; S. on the 
grantees 8 rods ; W. on the grantees 12 rods. The town relinquished 
all right in the adjoining lands. (Suff. Deeds, L. 362, f. 50.) 

The farm became the homestead of William Low, tenant under 
Eobert Temple on the Newgate- Yeamans farm in 1769, perhaps 
earlier. Two children of William Low by his wife Mary were re- 
corded at Chelsea, — Mary born 1757-5th day-2d month; Sam- 
uel, 1759-13-2 ; also the death of Alexander, 1757-9-1. William 
Low died March 19, 1787, aged 67. (Gravestone.) By will dated 
Jan. 26, and probated April 10, 1787, he left his estate, ^ to his 
wife and % to his son John during the lifetime of his wife. 
After her death he gave to John " my dwelling house and all my 
buildings in Chelsea and the Lands I own about them, that is to 
say all the lands I bought of Cap*. David Jenkins both Upland 
and Marsh and also all the Lands I bought of Nathan Lewis, and 
all the Upland and Marsh I bought of Robert Temple EsqF except 
one half of the four acre lot in the dam-marsh." The upland 
bought of Lewis and Temple was 17 acres of the Lewis farm, 
and lay across Beach Street from the homestead. To his daughter 
Mary Low, he gave " a living in my House and a decent main- 
tenance " so long as her mother lived and she remained unmarried 
to care for her ; also " the sheep she has, the loom and tackling 
and wlieel and her Bed and Beding and when she marries the 
one half of my household Furniture." A field of 15 acres 
called Hall's Hill, belonging originally to the little Cogan farm, 
was divided between his sons William and Samuel, and his 
daughter Mary. He gave one-half of the four-acre lot in the 
dammed marsh to his son James Low " in case he ever returns 
to this Country." John Low was residuary legatee and executor. 
In conclusion he did "earnestly recommend to ray Children to 
live in peace and love." (Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 86, f. 171.) 



240 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

"The ^Yidow Low"' died in August, 1?94, aged 74. (Church 
Records.) William Low, Jr., married Elizabeth Knower, Nov. 13, 
1769 (Church Records) ; and died Sept. 13, 1812, aged 64 (Grave- 
stone). John Low married Abigail Stowers, May 5, 1768, and 
died in August, 1800, aged 57 ; his widow died in October, 1812, 
aged 65. (Church Records.) Samuel Low married Martha Green 
June 27, 1786, and died June 5, 1823, aged 64; his widow died 
May 2, 1846, aged 85. (Gravestones.) The children of John and 
Abigail Low as recorded at Chelsea were: Abigail, born 1770- 
7th day-lst month; William, 1771-23-9; Elizabeth, 1773-26- 
10; John, 1775-11-8; James, 1777-22-9; Sarah, 1779-9-12; 
Samuel, 1781-21-10; Nathaniel, 1784-17-8; Mary, 1786-4-9; 
Lydia, 1788-3-11; Lois, 1790-10-9. 

In 1798 John Low owned and occupied " one Yerry old House " 
(36 X 26) valued at $40. The homestead on which it stood con- 
tained 17 acres and bounded west on the town road, N. on Joshua 
Cheever, E. on Elizabeth Kent, and S. on James Stowers. The 
barn was 30 X 28 ; the valuation of the land was $340. He also 
owned 17 acres on the opposite side of the road valued at $400, 
and 6 acres of saltmarsh. 

In the division of the estate of Lieutenant Joseph (2) Hasey 
in 1716, Jacob Hasey received the south side of a field that was 
bounded south and west on the Newgate-Yeamans farm. August 
15, 1748, Jacob Hasey executed a conveyance to Robert Temple of 
Charlestown. • The deed recites that in 1734 said Hasey sold to 
said Temple an acre of land, but the deed thereof had never been 
recorded, and had been lost. This acre abutted S. on land of 
John Yeamans, E. on said Hasey, N. on Samuel Watts Esq., W. 
on the road leading to the landing place. On the same day Robert 
Temple conveyed this acre of land to John Yeamans " late of S* 
James's Parish, Westminster." (Suff. Deeds, L. 75, ff. 136, 137.) 
It thus became a part of the Yeamans Farm. 

Deacon Jacob Hasey died April 29, 1753 [stc]. His will, dated 
May 2, W'as probated June 15. He appointed his wife Abigail 
sole executrix and gave her his whole estate for life. At her 
death his negro man Jemmy was to be set free, although if he 
caused her trouble she might sell him. Mention is also made of a 
negro girl Violet and boy Roger. He left legacies to " Samuel 
AMiittemore whom I educated " and to his granddaughter Eliza- 
beth Kent. His daughters, Abigail Floyd and Elizabe.th Kent, 
were to inherit his estate after his wife's decease. The children 
of Jacob (3) and Abigail Hasey were: Joseph, born at Maiden, 
Feb. 24, 1711/2; died May 6, i712 aged 2 mos. 11 days (grave- 
stone); Abigail baptized by Thomas Cheever June 10, 1716; 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 12 241 

married Hugh Floyd, April 15, 1752 (Maiden Vital Records) ; 
Elizabeth, born Oct. 18, bapt. Oct. 26, 1718. Elizabeth married 
Stephen Kent, Feb. 4, 1735/6 (Boston Eecords). At the time 
of his death Jacob Hasey owned a dwelling-house, barn, and 
chaise-house valued at £300; about 47 acres of upland and salt- 
marsh in Chelsea, and 15 acres of woodland in Maiden; his inven- 
tory gives evidence of prosperity. (Suff. Prob. Eec, L. 48, ff. 172, 
669.) December 3, 1759, Abigail Hasey of Eoxbury, widow, sued 
out a writ of trespass against Elisha Tuttle of Chelsea. The 
complaint was that May 25 of that year Tuttle entered the 
plaintiff's house, barn, and the adjoining six acres, cut five 
tons of hay, gathered sundry bushels of apples, etc. At the 
.trial of the case, Jan. 10, 1760, Nathan Cheever, an assessor 
of Chelsea, testified that Mrs. Abigail Hasey came to his house 
in October, 1759, and said that of her estate one parcel of land was 
to be rated to " one Davis," another to Joseph Lewis, and one half 
of the house and two pieces of land to Elisha Tuttle, and that 
said Tuttle had been rated accordingly. Samuel Whittemore and 
Stephen Kent of Eoxbury were among the witnesses summoned. 
The widow lost the case. (Court Files of Inf. Court of Common 
Pleas for Suff. Co.) This record shows that Stephen Kent, who 
married her daughter and was at one time tenant on the Cary farm, 
was living in Eoxbury in 1759. By will dated October 20, 1750, 
Joshua Cheever, Esqr., of Boston, son of Eev. Thomas Cheever, 
remitted half a year's rent to his tenant at Eoxbury, Samuel Whit- 
temore. He also gave his Friend Deac? Jacob Hasey £13 6s. 8d., 
to be deducted from the latter's debt to him. (Suff. Prob. Eec, 
L. 45, f. 601.) The widow Abigail Hasey died February 28, 1783, 
and was buried beside her husband in what is now Eevere. 

February 26, 1784, Jacob Hasey Butman of. Dorchester, as exec- 
utor of the estate of Jacob Hasey, sold to Henry Howell Williams, 
lessee of Noddle's Island and of the Yeamans farm in Chelsea, 
3% acres 6 rods of mowing and tillage land bounded N.W. by 
James Stowers and N.E., S. and W. by Deacon Greenough (the 
Yeamans farm). (Suff. Deeds, L. 142, f. 2; Prob. Eec, L. 82, 
ff. 629, 642.) By sale from Williams this land became a part 
of the Yeamans farm. (Ibid., L. 161, ff. 36, 37.) 

In the direct tax of 1798 the remainder of Jacob Hasey's farm 
was assessed to Elizabeth Kent, and was occupied by Ebenezer 
Butman. The house covered 540 feet, was of two stories, had eight 
windows, was " Verry Old," and with half an acre of land was 
valued at $115.50. Thirty-three acres of upland, with a barn 
thereon (30 X 18) were valued at $660; two parcels of salt-marsh 
at $174. 

VOL. I. — 16 



242 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

April 27, 1808, the lands remaining in the possession of the 
lieirs of Jacob Hasey were the homestead with house and barn 
thereon, containing 34 acres 14 rods, and two parcels of marsh 
of 514 acres 18 rods, and 5^4 acres 38 rods respectively. They were 
held by Charissa Kent of Dorchester, single, Sibbel Chadwick 
of Boston, widow, Abigail Kent and Elizabeth Butman, widow, 
of Charlestown. By purchase Sibbel Chadwick became the owner 
in 1808 of three fourths thereof; Abigail Kent of one fourth. 
(Sulf. Deeds, L. 227, ff. 177-179.) A plan of the land made for 
Mrs. Butman, April 25, 1806, is in Suff. Deeds, L. 894, f. 301. 
From this the upland can be easily identified on Hopkins' Atlas 
as, with minor exceptions, the lands of S. E. Hart, and Hopkins 
and Hichborn. This curiously shaped piece of land was also 
plotted on the survey for the Eastern E. E. in 1835. Its northern 
boundary, also the southern boundary of the Tuttle farm, was a 
straight line 132 rods 8 links in length from the N.E. corner of 
the ancient burial-ground across the tracks of the Eastern E. E. 
to Franklin Avenue, thence by Franklin Avenue nearly to Walnut 
Avenue. 

Of the estate of William Hasey, first of the name, who died 
May 30, 1689, 95 acres, lying east and south of the lands assigned 
to Lieutenant Joseph Hasey, Avere set off to his elder brother 
William, who died June 7, 1695. March 15, 1705/6 Jacob Hasey 
of Boston and Martha Norris quitclaimed to their brother William 
Hasey, eldest son of the deceased, their interest in the estate of 
their father William Hasey. (July 29, 1703, Martha Hasey had 
been married to Thomas Norris by Eev. Cotton Mather.) July 
20, 1714, Jacob Hasey acknowledged this release, and on the 1st 
Tuesday of July, 1714, the witnesses, Nathaniel Browne and 
Thomas Cheever, testified to the signature of Martha Norris. 
Jacob Hasey married Hannah Pitcher October 25, 1705 ; he owned 
the covenant at the North Church September 8, 1706; his home 
was in Boston. Cockrell Eeaues and his wife Judith executed a 
similar release to William Hasey March 19, 1707/8, and acknowl- 
edged the same at Salem. (March 12, 1707 Cockerill Eeeves and 
Judith Hasie were married by Eev. Cotton Mather.) March 
24, 1712/13 Nathaniel Hasey of Boston quitclaimed as above to 
his brother William Hasey (acknowledged July 20, 1714). Feb, 
1, 1713/14 Jacob Chamberlain of Eoxbury and Abiel his wife 
executed a similar quitclaim deed and acknowledged the same 
before Nicholas Paige at Eumney Marsli, March 16, 1713/14. 
(Jan. 12, 1713/14, Abiel Hasey and Jacob Chamberlain were mar- 
ried by Eev. Thomas Cheever. See infra, chap. xix. appendix.) 
This series of deeds was recorded June 23, 1719, in Suff. Deeds, 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 12 243 

L. 34, ff. 31, 32. William (3) Hasey by his first wife Elizabeth 
had (1) William, born Feb. 4, 1702/3, died before his father 
leaving a son William, who, Dec. 21, 1742, being then over four- 
teen years of age, chose his grandfather William Hasey his guar- 
dian. Suff. Prob. Eec, L. 36, f. 220. (2) Nathaniel, born Oct. 14, 
1705, married Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob and Abigail Cham- 
berlain, died January, 1782, aged 77. (3) Joseph, born Aug. 17, 
1707. Mrs. Elizabeth Hasey died July 25, 1708, in the 27th year of 
her age. (Gravestone.) He married second May 19, 1709, Sarah, 
daughter of John and ]\Iartha Tuttle, by whom he had (4) John, 
born July 21, 1710. (5) Samuel, bom Sept. 18, 1713. (6) 
Ebenezer, born July 6, 1721, died July 26. Mrs. Sarah Hasey 
died Feb. 27, 1735/6, aged 50 (Gravestone). Dec. 9, 1736, he mar- 
ried Abigail Hathorn, by whom he had (7) Ebenezer, born Sept. 
5, 1737. August 28, 1755, Ebenezer nominated Hon. Samuel 
Watts as his guardian. 

The children of Nathaniel (4) and Elizabeth Hasey were (1) 
Elizabeth, born 1750-16th day-4th month, married John Good- 
win April 22, 1777, died Aug. 30, 1825 aged 75; (2) William, 
born 1755-15-5; (3) Jacob, 1756-14-9. Elizabeth and Jacob 
were baptized Sept. 23, 1759. Jacob died in June, 1766. (4) 
Mary, baptized April 15, 1759, died in November, 1780, aged 21. 
(5) Nathaniel, bapt. Aug. 9, 1761, died in November, 1761, aged 
5 months. (6) Thomas Norris, bapt. Oct. 2, 1763. 

John (4) Hasey married (1) Abigail Dexter, daughter of 
Eichard and Sarah (Bucknam) Dexter of Maiden, Nov. 17, 
1730, and had by her (1) Sarah, born Feb. 1, 1731/2, mar- 
ried Joseph Lewis of Chelsea (intention filed at Chelsea Dec. 17, 
1750). Mrs. Abigail Hasey died Feb. 17, 1731/2 in the 20th 
year of her age. He married (2) Mary Chamberlain, Jan. 2, 
1734/5, and had (2) William born May 13, baptized May 16, 

1736, died in 1739 (Chelsea Town Records). (3) Mary, bom 
1737_25-[ ], baptized Jan. 1, 1737/8, died in 1739 (Chelsea 
Recbrds). (4) Hannah, born 1739-3d day-llth month, bap- 
tized Nov. 11, 1739. (5) Susanna, born 1741-13-9, baptized 
Sept. 13, 1741, married Andrew Tukesbury Feb. 18, 1762, died 
May 11, 1832, aged 90. (6) Mary, born 1744-24-1, baptized 
Jan. 29, 1743/4. (7) Lois, born ^1746-2-6, baptized June 8, 
1746. John Hasey married (3) at Leicester Nov. 22, 1748 
Tabitha Thomas. He lived at Leicester, had children born there, 
and died there March 22, 1753. 

Samuel (4)' Hasey married Sarah TTpham of Maiden May 9, 

1737. The children recorded at Chelsea were: Martha, bom 
1738-8 [5 ?]th day-2d month; Abigail, 1739-16-11; Phebe, 



244 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

1741_5_2; William, 1743-22-2, died 1T43-25-3; Estlier, 1745- 
15-1. In 1749 Saiimel Hasey was living in Leicester. {Supra, 
p. 226.) 

The children of Ebenezer (4) and Lydia Hasey recorded at 
Chelsea were: Abigail, born 1757-11-1 ; Ebenezer, 1758-25- [ ] ; 
Hannah, 1759-23-10; William, 17G1-8-G; John, 1763-14-2. 
For his removal with his family to Charlestown, see Wyman. 

In the year 1747, when the town of Chelsea was consider- 
ing a colleague for Eev. Thomas Cheever, it decided to buy 
the house in which John Hasey had been living, to use as a 
parsonage. May 23, 1748, William Hasey and his son John, 
for £1100 old tenor bills conveyed to the town of Chelsea a 
dwelling house and one half an acre of land then occupied by 
John Hasey, bounded southerly on the highway from William 
Hasey's house to *' Hasey's bank so called," — later described 
as '' the Bank commonly called Elder Hasey's landing place," — 
and on all other sides by said Wm. Hasey; also two parcels of 
salt marsh of nine and four acres, — the latter being marsh 
bought by John Hasey of the daughter of Asa Hasey as above 
noted. (Suff. Deeds, L. 90, ff. 1, 2 ; L. 93, f. 3; votes of town 
meeting, Xov. 30, 1747, April 18, and May 16, 1748.) January 8, 
1749/50, the Selectmen of Chelsea conveyed the house and the 
half acre of land to Nathaniel Hasey gent., son of Elder William 
Hasey, for £375 old tenor. It was described as the house which 
" M"^ John Hasey lately occupyed when an Inhabitant in Chelsea," 
and as situated " on the south side of the great hill in Elder Haseys 
farm commonlv called his sheep pasture." (Suff. Deeds, L. 78, 
f. 11; also L. 90, f. 2. Town Records, March 6, 1748/9, May 17, 
1749; Selectmen's Records, Oct. 11, 1749.) Elder Hasey's land- 
ing-place must have been near the point where the Revere Beach 
Parkway crosses the creek, as this is the only place where the 
great creek sweeps near the upland of the farm. Winthrop Avenue 
follows the road from Elder Hasey's house to the landing. The 
owners of the John Tuttle farm also made use of this landing- 
place. (Supra, p. 228.) It is to be regretted that the "great 
liill in Elder Hasey's farm" has here been deeply excavated beside 
the Parkway. The western slope of the hill was the pasture of the 
farm of Lieutenant Joseph Hasey, later of Jacob Hasey. 

Elder William Hasey died December 21, 1753. By will dated 
March 25, 1751, he left one third of his real estate to his wife for 
life; then his whole estate to his sons Nathaniel and Ebenezer sub- 
ject to legacies to his grandson, William, son of William Hasey, 
Jr. ; to his granddaughter Sarah Lewis, wife of Joseph Lewis 
and daughter of John Hasey; and to his sons John and Samuel 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 12 243 

Hasey. He gave to his wife two negroes, Peter and Jenny. In the 
inventory of his estate a negro man was vahied at £350 ; an aged 
negro man and woman at £-iO, old tenor. The mansion house was 
valued at £450 ; 85 acres in Chelsea at £5525 ; 23 acres of wood- 
land in Maiden at £120; the barn and cyder house at £50; a 
pew in the meeting-house at £20. The total for the real estate was 
£6165 old tenor, or £822 lawful money. (Suff. Prob. Eec, L. 48, 
f. 681 ; L. 49,' f. 198. See also L. 61, ff. 231, 232 for further items 
regarding the farm, farmhouses, and landing-place.) 

^larch 19, 1757, Nathaniel Hasey, as executor of the will of 
William Hasey, to pay the debts of the deceased, conveyed to 
Shute Shrimpton Yeamans of ]\Iarshgate, County of Surrey, Eng*- 
land, 141/0 acres for £128. It bounded N. on the heirs of Jacob 
Hasey deceased 53 rods 22 links, extending to the middle of the 
creek at the east end of the land granted, and including 8I/2 ft. of 
said creek; bounded E. on the creek 31 rods 14 links "and from 
the Northeast Corner on this side it is to run eighty feet on a strait 
Line in which eighty feet is included eight feet and a half of said 
Creek, and the remainder on this side bounds on said Creek as it 
now runs."' S. on Yeamans 29 rods 15 links; E. on Yeamans 2 
rods 15 links; S. on Yeamans 47 rods 7 links; W. on land of 
Samuel Watts and heirs of Jacob Hasey 51 rods 13 links; also 
four lots of land in Maiden. From these measurements these acres 
can be identified on the plan of the Yeamans farm in L. 525, 
f. 305, as lying between the creek and land of Z. Hall, south of 
Mrs. Chadwick's land. (Suff. Deeds, L. 89, f. 262.) 

May 20, 1761, Nathaniel Hasey and his wife Elizabeth, and Abi- 
gail Hasey quitclaimed to Ebenezer Hasey 16 acres 54 poles of 
pasture land; on the same day, the latter conveyed the same, his 
wife Lydia releasing her right of dower, to Ezra Green of Maiden. 
This land bounded N". on land of Thomas Hills, Tuttle farm; W. 
on Jacob Hasev deceased; E. on saltmarsh of said Jacob; S. on 
Nathaniel and Ebenezer Hasey. (Suff. Deeds, L. 96, ff. 103, 104, 
etc.) This land according to the atlas of 1874 was owned by the 
North Shore Land Co. (Suff. Deeds, L. 418, f. 35 ; L. 584, f. 127.) 

September 20, 1762, Ebenezer Hasey conveyed to Elisha Tuttle 
10 acres of mowing and tillage land, a part of the estate of William 
Hasey deceased. It bounded S.E. on said Hasey; S.W. and W., 
and N.W. by a creek ; N. and N.E. " by the Cart way Excluding 
the barn and other buildings." Abigail Hasey, widow, released 
her rights of dower. {Ihid., L. 100, f. 86; see also f. 127.) 

September 1, 1763, Nathaniel and Ebenezer Hasey, and Abigail 
Hasey, widow, all of Chelsea, mortgaged to Madam Sarah Watts, 
wife of Hon. Samuel Watts, for £400, 781/2 acres, stating that it 



246 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

was tlie farm which lately belonged to Elder William Hasey, de- 
ceased. It was bounded E. on the creek running about X.E. from 
the river which runs up to Capt. Sale's farm (or, according to 
a description in ITTO, on the " Creek from the said Deacon Hasey's 
land down to the river that is between Chelsea and Hog Island ") ; 
S. on the river running about one-half mile to or near Kocky Point ; 
thence W. upon a creek which ran near N. and S., to the line 
fence which bounds the upland formerly of Deacon Jacob Hasey 
deceased (in 17T0 this creek was stated to be the N.E. bound of the 
Yeamans farm) ; thence it was bounded X.W. on land formerly 
of said Jacob to land of Ezra Green, Esq. ; thence, N. E. and E. 
on land of said Green to saltmarsh late of said Jacob; thence 
E. on said Jacob to the creek first mentioned. There were 
three orchards. (Ibid., L. 100, f. 172.) This mortgage was 
foreclosed, and possession obtained under judgment April 3, 
1766. April 1, 1769, Samuel and Sarah Watts quitclaimed 
the premises to the mortgageors for £506 9s. Id. (Ihid., L. 116, 
f. 222.) March 22, 1770, Nathaniel Hasey conveyed to Joseph 
Green, gentleman, and Joseph Green, Jr., yeoman, of Stone- 
ham, this farm w^ith the exception of 1/2 of 6 acres of salt 
marsh. At this time the farm Avas said to contain 75 acres and 
there were "two dwelling houses and two barns" thereon. (Suff. 
Deeds, L. 116, f. 224; see also L. 106, f. 128; L. 116, f. 223.) 
The marshland here excepted had been sold by Ebenezer Hasey 
to Samuel Pratt, and from his estate passed' to James Stowers. 
(Suff. Deeds, L. 99, f. 179; L. 146, f. 133.) In 1798 a farm of 
701/2 acres was owned and occupied by Joseph Green. It was 
bounded, E., S. and W. on a creek; N". on Barnard Green and 
Elizabeth Kent. One house is mentioned. It covered 1520 ft., 
was of 2 stories, had 19 windows, was " Verry Old," and with half 
an acre of land was valued at $165. Seventy acres with the barn 
(40 X 30) were valued at $1355. The division of the farm of 
Joseph Green among his eight children, April 20, 1803, is in 
Suff. Deeds, L. 20V, f. 85. 

The Letvis Farm 

In 1654 Samuel Cole in his deed to William Halsey reserved one- 
sixth of the farm. By will dated December 21, 1666, and witnessed 
by Elias Maverick, Aaron Way and John Senter, he gave to his 
daughter Elizabeth Weedcn, wife of Edward Weeden, " that Land 
of mine at Eumney marsh, which at p'^sent her husband & shee 
lives upon & have done for some years past which is the sixt part 
of my Land, the residue whereof I sold to Cornet Halsey as 
appeareth by the deed made unto him," and six acres of marsh 



i 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 12 247 

at Hogg Island, "all which Land my said daughter & her hus- 
band shall enjoy during their naturall life & my will is that after 
their decease it shall bee Equally divided amongst all their Chil- 
dren." fie gave them also " the sume of Twenty pounds which 
is due unto mee from John scenter, to bee layd out towards the 
building of a new house, upon that Land formerly exprest at 
Eumney marsh." He gave for life to his " old servant Elizabeth 
Ward, that Cowe that I have in the keeping of my sonn in Lawe 
Edward Weeden." March 28, 16G4, Edward Weeden agreed with 
the selectmen of Boston to care for Elizabeth Ward during the 
rest of her natural life for £12 a year. Samuel Cole appointed 
liis son John Cole and daughter Elizabeth Weeden the executors 
of his will, which was probated February 13, 1666/7. The In- 
ventory of the estate of Samuel Cole, at Winnisimmet, deceased, 
was taken by Elias Maverick, Aaron Way and William Ireland. 
There were goods at Winnisimmet, and a few books, pictures and 
the like at "James Euerells " in Boston. (Suff. Prob. Eec, L. 1, 
f. 482; L. 5, f. 36.) Presumably Samuel Cole died at the house 
of his granddaughter Sarah Senter. (See chap, vii.) 

In 1672 and 1673, Joseph and John Weeden of Boston, Samuel 
Weeden of Eumly Marsh with his wife Hannah, and Sampson and 
Elizabeth Cole of Eumly Marsh conveyed their rights in this farm 
to Jeremiah Belcher, possession thereof to be had after the death 
of their parents Edward and Elizabeth Weeden. (Suff. Deeds, 
L. 8, ff. 176-181.) Samuel Weeden was born in August, 1644. 
(Boston Eecords.) The following children of Edward and Eliz.a- 
beth Weeden of Evimney Marsh were mentioned in a deed dated 
in June, 1G72, — Jeremiah Belcher of Boston (i. e. Winnisimmet) 
and his wife Sarah, Samuel Weeden, husbandman, John Weeden, 
seaman, Elizabeth Weeden, Jr., Edward Weeden, Jr., Hannah 
Weeden, and Mary Weeden. Edward Weeden, Elizabeth Weeden 
and Sarah Belchar made their mark; Jeremiah Belcher signed 
his name. (L. 8, f. 51.) The land was described in 1672 as a 
piece of " Vpland partly bounded Northeast Vpon y® Vpland of 
Cornet William Hasee : Westerly on m'"^. NewGate in the posses- 
sion of Henry greene : Northerly bounded by m"* John Tuttle " ; 
and meadow which bounded " Easterly vpon the Meadow of Elder 
Pens widdow, Westerly on y® Meadow of Cornett William Hasee 
& otherwise bounded by a beach." There was also the meadow 
on Hog Island which was sold to Mrs. Newgate in June. 

March 25, 1690, Jeremiah Belcher of Hog Island and his wife 
Sarah for £110 conveyed to Isaac Lewis of Eumney Marsh, at 
one time tenant on the small Keayne farm, 27% acres of upland 
bounded on the east by Joseph Hasey ; S. and W. by the Newgate 



248 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

farm ; and north by land which said Lewis had bought of Elisha 
Tuttle; also 8 acres of saltmarsh, bounded E. and N. by the 
beach; S. and \V. by Lt Hasey's meadow. March 26, IGDU, Elisha 
Tuttle and his wife Hannah conveyed 71/2 acres of upland bounded 
W. by Mr. Newgate's farm; N. and E. by said Elisha Tuttle, and 
S. by said Lewis' land formerly belonging to Jeremy Belcher. 
The land measured 20 poles at the west end on the Newgate line, 
and ran thence 120 poles to a point at the east end. Four acres 
of swamp were conveyed, in what was later known as the dammed 
marsh. (SufP. Deeds, L. 15, ff. 151, 152.) By these deeds Isaac 
Lewis secured a farm containing about 35 acres of upland, situated 
on the west side of Beach Street. Central Avenue represents 
approximately the northern boundary ; the southern line of the 
Town Hall lot the southern boundary. The west boundary of 
0. Foster on Plopkins' Atlas marks the west line of the farm. 

According to Wyman, Lewis was the son of John Lewis of 
Maiden, and married, March 25, 1680, Mary, daughter of Samuel 
and Mary Davis of Groton. He died April 6, 1691, aged 34, and 
was buried at Maiden. (Vital Eecords of Maiden.) He left chil- 
dren, — Mary, born March 1, 1680/81 ; Isaac, August 31, 1683 ; 
Joseph, Nov. 16, 1685; John, Feb. 25, 1687/8; and Abraham, 
June 9, 1691. These births were recorded both at Boston and at 
Lynn. 

According to the inventory of his estate he possessed at the 
time of his death, 2 mares, a two year old colt, 2 oxen, 12 cows 
and heifers, 11 young cattle, 42 sheep and 15 swine. His widow 
married Thomas Pratt, later owner of the Way-Ireland farm, 
before April 10, 1694. The estate was not settled until Nov. 25, 
1718, when the farm was assigned to Isaac Lewis, the eldest son, 
subject to the right of dower of Mary Lewis Pratt, on condition 
that he pay his brothers and sister their portions. The latter 
were Joseph, John, Abraham, and Mary, wife of William Ser- 
geant of Maiden. (Suff. Prob. Eec, L. 8, f. 212; L. 13, f. 392; 
K 17, f. 474; L. 20, if. 3, 19; L. 21, f. 183.) Although Thomas 
and Mary Pratt purchased the Way-Ireland farm, they may have 
lived upon the Lewis farm until this settlement. There is a 
curious item in the records of the Suff. County Court for the term 
of Oct., 1715. Samuel Mattocks, Jr., of Boston complained that 
he had agreed with Isaac Lewis of Eumney Marsh, June 20, 1715, 
to exchange their maid servants, and in accordance therewitli he 
had, about June 24, carried his " Apprentice maid Serv* Jane 
Hawkins " to Eumney Marsh, and delivered her to Isaac Lewis, 
who then said that he would have delivered the indenture of his 
maid servant. Mar}' Webster, but his mother had gone to Boston 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 12 249 

and he could not find it ; yet he promised to send it with the maid 
the following Thursday. He sent the maid, the recital continues, 
without the indenture, and since then had pretended she ran 
away from his service, and sued out a warrant for her. The 
judgment was that Mattocks should assign to Lewis the indenture 
of Jane Hawkins, Mary Webster serve Mattocks the remainder 
of her term, and Isaac Lewis pay costs. (Court Eec, pp. 97, 98.) 

Presumably Lewis was married to Hannah Hallet by Kev. Cotton 
Mather, March 21, 1705. The children of Isaac (2) and Hannah 
Lewis as recorded at Boston were, Isaac, born July 1, 1707; 
John, Jan. 10, 1708/9; Hannah, Oct. 19, 1710; William, Jan. 
31, 1713/14; Abijah, Sept. 9, 1717; Mary, Oct. 9, 1719; Nathan, 
Dec. 6, 1721; Joseph, Jan. 11, 1723/4; Lydia, baptized July 24, 
1726. The first eight births were recorded also at Lynn. Wil- 
liam's birth is there given as Jan. 31, 1712/3. (Vital Records of 
Lvnn.) The wife Hannah joined the church at Eumney Marsh 
March 16, 1717/8; she was living in 1740. (Suff. Deeds, L. 60, 
f. 124.) Presumably she died before 1746, as on April 1 Isaac 
Lewis of Chelsea married Susanna Gatchell of Boston. July 8, 
1750, the intention of marriage of Isaac Lewis and Sarah Nor- 
wood of Ijvnn was recorded at Chelsea. She survived him. (Infra, 
p. 251.) 

Isaac (3) Lewis was married (1) to Mary Cole by Eev. Thomas 
Cheever in 1732. Their children, recorded at Boston, were: John 
and Jacob, born Oct. 6, 1734; Isaac, born March 29, 1736 (mar- 
ried Mary Downing at Chelsea Jan. 3, 1758). He was married 
(2) by Eev. Thomas Cheever to Anna Burlow August 11, 1737. 
Their children, recorded at Chelsea, were: Abigail, born 1740-8th 
day-lst month (presumablv married Lemuel Spurr Dec. 6, 1769) ; 
Marv, 1742-8-2; William, 1744-19-2; George, 1747-25-7; 
Sarah, 1748-20-7. 

Abijah (3) Lewis married Eachol Kitchens of Chelsea (intention 
filed at Boston Jan. 18, 1749/50). Their children, recorded at 
Chelsea, were: Hannah, born 1750-31-5; Samuel, 1752-16-12; 
Sarah, 1754-21-10; Elizabeth, 1756-21-10 (presumably married 
David Davis April 29, 1776) ; Abijah, 1759-29-1; Moses, 1762- 
16-10. Abijah Lewis died in March, 1788; Mrs. Eachel Lewis 
died in July, 1801, aged 84. 

Nathan (3) Lewis married Mary Newall Sept. 17, 1747. (Bos- 
ton Records.) Six children, born between 1750 and 1762, were 
recorded at Chelsea and also at Lynn ; the younger children in the 
family were recorded at Lynn only. (See Vital Eecords of Lynn.) 

Joseph (3) Lewis married Sarah, daughter of John Hasey. 
(Intention filed at Chelsea Dec. 17, 1750.) Their children, recorded 



250 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

at Chelsea, were: Frances, born 1751-8-10; Joseph, 1752-12-12; 
Ebenezcr, 1751-7-11 ; William, 1756-14-10; Steven, 1758-23-9. 

November 1, 1758, Isaac Lewis conveyed to Nathan Lewis by 
deed of gift, three acres of land, the south corner being on the town 
road at " the barrs leading from said Road into Mr Temple's 
Farm." It bounded south on that farm 34 rods, and east on the 
town road 21 rods. On the north and west it was separated from 
other lands of Isaac Lewis by a zigzag line. Nathan could build 
on the east quarter of an acre immediately ; he was to come into 
possession of the remainder at the death of Isaac Lewis. (Suif. 
Deeds, L. 92, f. 97.) Nathan Lewis, and his wife Mary, conveyed 
this to William Low, May 4, 1763. (Ibid., L. 100, f. ^178.) 

March 30, 1758, Isaac Lewis conve3^ed to Joseph I^ewis of 
Chelsea, mariner, for £16, six acres, bounded S.E. by the town 
road 29 rods from the east corner of the pound which " now 
stands on said Premisses " ; S.W. by Isaac Lewis, 34 rods ; N.W, 
by Isaac Lewis, 29 rods ; N.E. by Elisha Tuttle, 34 rods ; " in- 
cluding the land said Pound stands on." Isaac Lewis reserved 
the lierbage of the within granted premises, exclusive of Joseph's 
houseplot. (Suff. Deeds, L. 94, f. 254.) 

Joseph Lewis of Chelsea, yeoman, conveyed to Elisha Tuttle 
for £60 February 17, 1764, one acre of land with a dwelling-house 
standing thereon. It was bounded E. on the town road leading 
to Chelsea meeting-house 23 rods, N. on the heirs of Jonathan 
Hawkes 7 rods, W. 23 rods, and S. 7 rods on the remaining land 
of Joseph Lewis. (L. 108, f. 1.) Elisha Tuttle, December 1, 1773, 
conveyed to his grandsons Nathan Cheever of Chelsea, blacksmith, 
and Joseph Cheever of Boston, cabinet-maker, this acre with " a 
small dwelling house thereon now under the improvement of 
Abijah Hastings as my tenant." (L. 125, f. 27.) Jan. 13, 1775, 
Nathan Cheever, blacksmith, and Joseph Cheever, cabinet-maker, 
both of Chelsea, conveyed it, still in the tenancy of Abijah 
Hastings, to James Stowers, who had already purchased the land 
to the south and west. (Ihid., L. 126, f. 242. Original deed. 
Chamberlain MSS., iv. 79. Signed Nathan Cheever, jun?, etc.) 
Presumably this was the house occupied by Joseph Pratt when the 
direct tax of 1798 was assessed. That house covered 468 feet, was 
of one story, had 7 windows, and with 1144 square feet was valued 
at $165. Possibly it was the house, nearly opposite the junction 
of School and Beach streets, marked on the plan of James Stowers' 
estate in 1817. (SufF. Deeds, L. 260, end of vol.) 

March 31, 1761, Isaac Lewis and his wife Sarah, for £200, con- 
veyed title to 30 acres of tillage and pasture " at a small distance 
from said Chelsea Meeting House" with a "Dwelling House 



CiiAP. VI] APPENDIX 12 251 

and Barn and Outhouse situate on said land," bounded north 
by Jonathan Hawkes, E. by Joseph Lewis, W. and N.W. by Yea- 
mans' land, S.W. by Nathan Lewis, and S.E. by the road, to 
Joseph Lewis and Ebenezer Hasey of Chelsea, husbandmen. By 
the same deed he conveyed title to 5 acres of salt marsh bounded 
E. and N.E. by Chelsea Beach, with Jonathan Bill's marsh on the 
S. and S.E., David Jenkins' (fortnerly Asa Hasey's) marsh W., 
and James Pitts' marsh N,W. ; and to 4 acres of marsh in what 
was later known as the dammed marsh. The former was marsh 
of the Cole farm; the latter of the Elisha Tuttle farm. (Suff. 
Deeds, L, 96, f. 17.) Aug. 14, 1768, Ebenezer Hasey mortgaged 
his half of these three tracts of land to Eobert Temple for £100, 
stating that it was land which Isaac Lewis had lately sold and 
conveyed to him and to Joseph Lewis. (Suff. Deeds, L. 98, 
f. 181.) Joseph Lewis mortgaged both his five-acre lot above- 
mentioned, and his half of the lands last mentioned. (Ibid., 
L. 102, f. 219; L. 107, f. 246.) 

Isaac Lewis died in December, 1763, aged 81. April 26, 1765, 
Ebenezer Hasey of Chelsea was appointed administrator of the 
estate of Isaac Lewis deceased, and Joseph Lewis became one of 
his bondsmen. The inventory of the estate footed £55 lis. 4:d.; 
this included no real estate. (Suff. Prob. Eec, L. 64, ff. 255, 
383.) Mrs. Sarah Lewis died in April, 1774, aged 85. March 18, 
1766, Joseph Lewis signed a paper, by which he agreed for £146 
13s. and 4(7. to be paid by James Stowers, Jr., of Chelsea, two 
thirds at once and one third on the death of the widow Lewis, — 
the latter being for his " part of her thirds in the Estate of my 
late Father Isaac Lewis of Chelsea Deceased," — to convey to the 
said Stowers, by warranty deed, his share in the estate of his 
father Isaac Lewis, that is, " one half of the House and Barn and 
of all the buildings that is upon s*^ place the one half of them, 
and the full of one and Twenty Acres of Lands belonging to the 
said Estate." He also agreed to shingle the house and permit 
Stowers to move to the premises at once. " And Whereas it is 
scrupled by some whether a Deed can be legally executed at the 
present Juncture by reason of the Stampt Act, so if in Case the 
s'' Stowers Chuses to defer receiving the Deed till the Difficulties 
of this kind may be removed," he would in the future execute a 
warranty deed when demanded. If it was found, when the land 
was surveyed, that he did not have 21 acres, £6 13s. 4d. was to 
be deducted for " every Acre deficient " ; the same was to be added 
for every acre in excess of 21 acres. (Original in Chamberlain 
MSS., iv. 63.) April 21, 1776, the farm was surveyed by Jona- 
than Porter and found to contain 29 acres 48 rods. (Court Files, 



252 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

Sale vs. Pratt, cited in Appendix 1.) Joseph Le^vis owned a few 
acres to the north in the parcel conveyed to him by his father in 
1T58, of which he had sold only one acre to Elisha Tuttle. June 
10, 17G6, Kobert Temple of Charlestown, quitclaimed to James 
Stowers, Jr., of Chelsea, 18i/i> acres of upland near Chelsea meet- 
ing-house bounded N. by Jonathan Hawkes deceased and Elisha 
Tuttle; E. by said Tuttle and the town road; W. and S. by 
A\'i]liam Low; also one half of a G acre lot of marsh bounded N. 
and E. by Chelsea Beach ; S. by marsh of the late Jonathan Bill and 
W. by marsh of WilliaTu Low. He stated that this was a " part of 
the Estate which belonged to Isaac Lewis of s*? Chelsea Dec'^, and 
which Joseph Lewis and Ebenezer Hassey of s^ Chelsea purchased 
of the said Isaac & held in Common and undivided and said 
hassey has Conveyed his Kight & Title to me said Joseph Quiting 
the same as I now Quit to said Stowers as partition has been 
made." According to the endorsement on this deed, it was re- 
corded in Suff. Deeds, L. 112, f. 138. This volume of the records 
has been lost. (Original deed in Chamberlain ]\ISS., iv. 63.) 
The day before this deed was signed Joseph Lewis conveyed to 
Eobert Temple his half of the four acres in the " dam marsh," 
stating that it was a part of the estate of Isaac Lewis deceased, 
and was held in common by said Joseph Lewis and liobert Temple. 
Temple conveyed this marsh to William Low April 8, 1778. (Suff. 
Deeds, L. 109^ f. 17 ; L. 131, f. 251.) Thus of the lands conveyed 
by Isaac and Sarah Lewis in 1761 to Ebenezer Hasey and Joseph 
Lewis, in 1766 the northern half was owned by James Stowers, 
and the southern half by liobert Temple, who conveyed the same 
to William Low, who already owned three acres at the southern end 
of the original Lewis farm, purchased from Nathan Lewis in 1763. 
Presumably the deeds from Joseph Lewis to Stowers, and from 
Temple to Low, were recorded in the same volume of the Suffolk 
Deeds in which the release from Temple to Stowers was recorded. 
This volume, as already stated, has been lost. By will, dated 
Jan. 26, 1787, William Low bequeathed to his son John, among 
other lands " all the Upland and Marsh I bought of Kobert Temple 
Esq"* except one half of the four acre lot in the dam-marsh," and 
in his inventory aside from Hall's Hill (15 acres) and the land 
he bought of Capt. Jenkins (17 or 18 acres) there appear 171/2 
acres of upland. (SufP. Prob. Eec, L. 86, ff. 171, 201.) Sept. 27, 
1816, John Low mortgaged to Nathaniel Low 16 acres bounded 
S.W. and N.W. by Wm. H. Sumner (Newgate farm) ; N.E. by 
James Stowers, Joseph Pratt, James Stowers ; S.E. by the road 
leading to the meeting-house. The conveyance stated that origin- 
ally this was one parcel, but was then divided by the Salem Turn- 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 12 253 

pike, seven acres lying east, and nine acres west of tlie turnpike. 
(Suff. Deeds, L. 252, f. 176.) The distance on the turnpike 
from the north boundary by Stowers to the south line by the 
Yeamans farm was 18 poles 2 links. December 16, 1818, John and 
Charlotte Low of Boston for $606 conveyed to John Wright of 
Chelsea, five and three fourths acres twenty-two rods of mowing 
and tillage land bounded IST.W. by Salem turnpike, S.W. by 
Grcenough and others (the Yeamans fann), S.E. by the town road 
(Beach Street), N.E. by the heirs of James Stowers. (Suif. 
Deeds, L. 261, f. 175.) June 3, 1835, John Wright convej^ed to 
the town of Chelsea for $227.81 one half acre one rod of land " at 
the most Westerly corner of the land which I purchased of John 
and Charlotte Low " by the deed cited above, as a site for a Town 
HalL The lot bounded N.W. on the turnpike and S.W. on the 
heirs of Greenough. {h. 392, f. 135.) Thus the present Town 
Hall of Eevere stands on the south line of the farm which 
Samuel Cole bequeathed to his daughter Elizabeth Weeden in 
1666. The line of division between the lands of James Stowers 
and of Low may be seen on the plan of the Stowers estate in Suff. 
Deeds, L. 260, end of volume. In 1806, James and Lydia Stowers 
sold to Joseph Pratt, blacksmith, a lot four by ten rods on the 
western side of the Salem Turnpike adjoining their lands to the 
sou til ; this appears on the plan abovementioned, and accounts for 
the N.E. bounds in the mortgage from John Low to Nathaniel 
Low. (L. 215, f. 229.) Thus the southern ten or eleven acres 
of the Stowers farm west of the old road from Winnisiumiet to 
the meeting-house (Beach Street) belonged originally to the Cole 
farm. In 1798, James Stowers owned and occupied a house near 
the centre of the town. Presumably this was the Lewis home- 
stead. It covered 952 feet, was of two stories, had 19 windows, 
was " Yerry Old," and with one acre of land was valued at $550. 
The outbuildings were a barn (60 X 27), and two corn barns 
(each 12 X 8). Presumably the southernmost house on the 
plan of Stowers' estate in 1817, above cited, marks the site of the 
farmhouse of Edward and Elizabeth Weeden, and Isaac Lewis. 
The house a little south of the point where School and Beach 
streets diverge marks, presumably, the house of Joseph Lewis, 
later in the tenancy of Abijah Hastings as noted above. If this 
was the case. Central Avenue, and its extension west of Broadway, 
marks the northern boundary of the Lewis farm. When Hopkins' 
Atlas was compiled the marsh of Edward Weeden's farm was 
owned by J. 0. Young. (See Suff. Deeds, L. 1488, f. 228 ; L. 870, 
146.)] 



254 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 



APPENDIX 13 

In 1783, John Sale, then owner of the estate, wrote to the 
Assessors of the Town of Chelsea the following letter,^ in which 
are interesting particulars as to the course of husbandry, the 
changes in the property made by the sea, and the discouragements 
of farmers, particularly on the seacoast : 

Chelsea April 30 1783 
Gent^, The occasion of my writing to you at this Time is because 
I am over rated which I think I Can make plainly appear, if you 
will Consider the following things, when my Father in Law M"". 
John Floyd - Lived on this Farm I now Live on, which he did 
12 years about Seventy years ago, My Grandfather told him the 
whole farm Contained 300 acres, 187 acres of which is Salt marsh 
and a number of acres is not worth mowing, &, Since that time 
the Sea has wasted Some acres of the upland, about 30 years 
ago the marsh was valuable Salt hay Sold quick to the Southern 
people which was our Dependance, but Lately they have Cleared 
up their Swamps which used to Lay Dormant, & mow so much 
hay that they buy but very Little Salt hay, & sometimes my Grass 
Stands & my hay Lies upon my hands every year, & I am So 
Scituated that I Cant Sell it any where else, my Father used to 
keep above 200 Sheep besides a Large Stock of Cattle & 2 horses 
when the farm Lay all Common, I have been at a great Charge 
for 7 years in making Division pastures & Cant keep but about 
90 Sheep 20 head of horn Cattle 2 horses & Could not do that but 
Lately I have turned out two Lots of marsh for the Creatures to 
feed on, for the grasshoppers has been so numerous for Several 
years past some people that See them Said they Destroyed as 
much grass as my whole Stock, I Cant fat my Beef upon the farm 
am obliged to put them out I have no woodland no Orchard & a 
very poor house one of the oldest Buildings in the town only fit 
for Shelter I expend above 20 Cords of wood in a year & find hard 

* A. L. S. ; addressed " To the Assessors of the Town of Chelsea." 
Chamberlain MSR.. vii. 103. 

* [Supra, p. 190.] 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 13 255 

to get it some years because the people dont buy hay I pay 10£ 
yearly for the use of poor Scholars I have paid M*" Payson 5 years 
annuity for his Sons & in the time paper mony went the order 
was artfully kept back for 2 years & the third year he brougt 
me an order for 100 hard Dollars I told him I Could not pay it 
there was but Little Silver money passing but he was urgent for 
it & finally I was obliged to Sell a yoke of oxen to Discharge the 
order, I Could tell you some other Difficulties I Labour under 
were I personally with you, but I think what I have wrote Suffice 
to convince any reasonable person that I am rated too high, Gen* : 
I dont want no more favour than any other person, but only have 
you do by me as you would be willing to be done by yourselves, 
which is the golden Eule, Gen*. I Submit these things to your 
Serious Consideration; not doubting but if you Let them have 
their due weight upon your minds you will Ease me of some of 
my Burden which will be thankfully acknowledged, — 
by your most Obedient 
Hum^e Serv* 

John Sale 

Apparently he sent also the following schedule.^ 

Chelsea Dec^r 2 1783 
90 acres pasture 10 D*' mowing Land 7 Tonns english hay 11 D** 
Tillage 170 bush' grain 150 acres Salt marsh 80 Tonns Salt hay 4 
oxen 2 Steers 9 Cows 1 young Bull 1 heifer 3 Calves 2 horses 90 
Sheep 4 hogs Gen* this is the invoice of my Estate, I have a very 
poor old house just fit for Shelter I have no orchard & have to 
buy all my wood which Costs me more than it would do if I had 
a good house, & I think I Stand too high yet in the Single Rate 
by reason of that money I pay to the College which should be 
wholly taken out of the rents of the farm & Desire you would 
Consider it 

John Sale 

[Fifteen years later when the direct tax of 1798 was assessed, 
the farm was owned by John Sale, and occupied by John Sale, 
Jr. It was bounded, south, west and north on a creek; east on 
the beach and the Bowdoin farm, and with the house lot was esti- 
mated to contain 285 acres. It paid annually to Harvard Col- 
lege $33.33, — the annuity of ten pounds entailed thereon for 
the support of poor scholars by the will of James Penn. The 

' A. D. S., addressed " To the Assessors of Chelsea," Ibid., 127. 



25C HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

house on the farm covered 1216 feet, was of two stories, and had 
twenty-two windows. There was a " Back Porch " with three 
windows that covered 90 feet. A one story wood and ''chaise" 
house covered .'390 feet. These buildings with an acre of h^nd 
were valued at $1100. The farm lands with a barn GO X 30 feet 
and a corn barn 14 X 14, were valued at $4342.50. A plan of 
this farm ma}- be seen in Suff. Deeds, L. 443, f. 96. 

In the inventory of Penn Townsend, taken in 1727, the farm 
was valued at £3000.* The house of Penn Townsend on the north 
west corner of Beacon and Tremont streets in Boston was valued 
at only £800. Seven 3^ears later, August 16, 1734, his son-in-law, 
John Sale, described the latter as " old, and gone much to Decay." 
He wished to demolish it, if he could obtain a license to rebuild 
with timber ; he planned to erect a " handsome dwelling " 40 
feet in front and 25 feet in the rear, 30 feet from the nearest 
house.^ But he did not rebuild; in 1739 he was anxious to sell. 
According to the will of Penn Townsend, John Sale and his wife 
held only a life interest in the estates, the reversion belonging to 
their children, two of whom were minors, hence an act of the 
General Court was necessary to enable them to convey title. John 
and Ann Sale of Boston petitioned the General Court which met 
April 19, 1739, stating that Ann was the only surviving daughter 
and heir of Penn Townsend, and that they stood " in need of 
Mony to repair the buildings upon the afores*^ Farm, and to pur- 
chase Sheep and other Stock to put thereon, which They design 
to Improve for the benefit of themselves & their Children." April 
24, 1739, the petition was read in the Council and dismissed. 

March 21, 1739/40 a similar petition was read in the House of 
Eepresentatives and referred to a committee. At the next session 
of the Court, on June 5, the House voted " That Ebenezer Pom- 
roy. Esq ; Capt. Oliver Partridge, Samuel Watts, Esq ; and Mr, 
William Fairfield, with such as shall be joined by the honourable 
Board, be a Committee to view the Premises, and report what they 
judge proper for this Court to do thereon." When this petition 
and the order of the House thereon reached the Council, it was 
met by a protest signed by William Hickling and his wife Sarah, 
daughter of John and Ann Sale. They protested that "if the 
produce of the Land in Boston should be Expended for living 
Stock on the ffarm such stock would be lyable to be attached to 
pay Mr. Sales Debts. . . . And as the ffarm is surrounded by the 

* RufT. Prob. Rpc, L. 2G. f. 378. 

^ Petition to the Selectmen, Files of the Boston City Clerk, in the base- 
ment of City Hall. 



Chat. VI] APPENDIX 13 257 

Salt water almost there is little need of fencing, And the House 
is not so ruinous as has bin represented b}^ Mr. Sale in his peti- 
tion." The3^ added that they were not notified of the petition, 
and had no opportunity to present their protest to the House of 
Eeprcsentatives, which voted favorably on the petition and sent 
it to the Council for its concurrence. Upon reading this answer 
the Council Voted June 7, that the petition be dismissed. The 
House voted a non-concurrence, and returned the matter to the 
Council with an order for a hearing before a committee of the two 
houses, Samuel Watts, Esq., William Fairfield, and Ebenezer Pom- 
roy, Esq., to represent the House." 

To the General Court which met in x\ugust, 1740, a petition 
was presented signed by John Sale and Ann Sale, of Chelsea, 
Mary and Eebeckah Sale, and John Marshall as guardian for 
John Sale, a minor. They said that the house on Tremont Street 
was " ruinous and much gone to decay," and that all the children 
were willing to sell except William Hickling and his wife. They 
wished to expend the proceeds from the sale " in repairing the 
Buildings & fences upon the afores^ Farm in Chelsea where the 
sd John Sale and his Wife are removed," which, they added, were 
"gone to decay." They were willing that the proceeds from the 
sale should be placed in the hands of two or more trustees living 
in and about Chelsea, and that one fourth of the proceeds, — the 
share of Sarah Hickling, — should remain in the hands of the 
trustees. September 2, 1740, the petition was read in the House 
of Representatives, and it was ordered that William Hickling be 
served with a copy of the petition, to show cause, etc. The answer 
of William and Sarah Hickling was presented at the November 
term of Court. They insisted that their share of the estate could 
not be determined at the present moment, as the estate was to be 
divided among such grandchildren of Penn Townsend as wore 
living at the death of John and Ann Sale. Also the " Respond*® 
say that the house & Fences on s*? Farm have been often Repaired 
& the Income of s? Townsends Estate is Suffic* with a Consider- 
able Over plus to Repair the Fences & Buildings on said Farm, if 
the Pet? John was Inclined to manage the Same for the bennefite 
of his Children." Also the land in Boston would increase in value, 
while the buildings and fences in Chelsea might be permitted to 
go to decay so that the respondents might gain very little from the 
expenditures on them. They added that Rebeckah Sale was a 
minor, and with Mary and John lived with the petitioner, and Avas 

' Mass. Archives, x\ii. 565, 690; House Journal, 1739, p. 239; ibid., 
1740, pp. 21, 27. 
VOL. I. — 17 



258 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

" by him influenced to preferr said pet? not knowing their Eeall 
Interest." November 27, 1740, the petition of John Sale and 
this answer thereto were read in the Council, and the pra3'er of 
the petition was refused, December 2, 1740, the House of Eepre- 
sentatives concurred/ 

Fifteen months later a third petition was presented. The wife, 
Ann Sale, had died. This was signed by John Sale for himself 
and his daughter Eebecca a minor, by Mary Sale, by William and 
Sarah Hickling, and by John Marshall as guardian of John Sale. 
These were the " only Surviving Grand children and heirs of the 
said Penn Townsend." The plan was to place the proceeds from 
the sale of the house on Tremont Street in the hands of Samuel 
Watts Esq., Jacob Hasey, Samuel Pratt, and Nathaniel Oliver, Jr., 
of Chelsea " to be laid out upon the Farm for fitting up the 
Dwelling house thereon which is much out of repair, & for build- 
ing a Barn or repairing the old Barn, making of stone Walls, 
Ditches &c and otherwise as they (or any three of them) shall 
Judge most for the advantage of the Farm." If there was an 
overplus it was to be let out at interest, and the income paid to 
John Sale for life. March 24, 1741/2 the House of Eepresenta- 
tives voted to grant the prayer of the petition; March 29, 1742, 
the Council concurred. The name of Jacob Hasey was omitted.* 
A fourth petition, signed by the same parties, and tendered, it 
was said, at the request of the purchaser of the house, was pre- 
sented to the Court which inet in May, 1742, praying that William 
Hickling and John Marshall be added to the committee for the 
expenditure of the money. This was granted by the House of Eep- 
resentatives June 14, 1742. The Council concurred June 18.° 
There still remained of the estate of Penn Townsend the half of 
a brick house on Marlboro Street. John and Ann Sale in April, 
1738, had petitioned in vain for permission to sell. In June, 
1743, permission was granted. Samuel Watts was then the guar- 
dian of John Sale, Jr., a minor about sixteen years of age.^° 

Apparently entailed estates were not popular among the land- 
holders of Chelsea. Twice the entail on the Newgate-Shrimpton 
farm was barred by a common recovery, — by Nathaniel Newdi- 
gate in 1687, and by John and Shute Shrimpton Yeamans in 1742. 
That on the Dudley and Oliver farms was also barred by the same 
process. Inability to accomplish this, because of the minority of 

^ Mass. Archives, xvii. 720-722. 
• Ibid., 8G4. 

"Ibid., 898; also xviii. 48. 
" Ibid., xvii. 538; xviii. 139. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 13 259 

their children, caused Edward and Eebecca "Watts to come to New 
England in 1710, and establish themselves on the Ferry farm. 

John Sale was the first proprietor to live on the farm. Pre- 
sumably he moved thither in 1739 or 1740. Both the earlier 
owners of the farm, James Penn and Penn Townsend, were influ- 
ential citizens of Boston, and lived on the northwest corner of 
Beacon and Tremont streets. James Penn was a ruling elder 
in the First Church, and a deputy to the General Court. Penn 
Townsend, his nephew, was colonel of a militia regiment, com- 
mander of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, select- 
man and moderator of town meetings, deputy to the General 
Court, Speaker of the House in 1696 and 1697, Assistant for 
twenty-seven years. Chief Justice of the Inferior Court of Com- 
mon Pleas for Suffolk County, 1718-1727. 

Who the tenants on the farm were is not known, but not im- 
probably John G rover, whose name appears on the Eumney Marsh 
list of 1674 and 1676; and AVilliam Colmcr, on the tax lists of 
1687, 1688, 1692, 1695, and 1702 (also as ''William boumer" in 
1701). Possibly John Floyd (born 1687) succeeded the latter, 
as he lived on the farm for twelve years, " about Seventy years 
ago," John Sale wrote in 1783. The only children who sur- 
vived Penn Townsend were two daughters by his first wife, Sarah, 
sister of Isaac Addington, Secretary of the Province, and niece 
of Governor John Leverett. Sarah married Ebenezer Thayer, 
pastor of the Second Church in Eoxbury. Ann married John Sale 
June 5, 1712. Mrs. Thayer died without issue. John Sale was the 
son of Ephraim and Mary Sale, and was bom January 17, 1686/7. 
The children of John and Ann Sale as recorded at Boston were: 
Mary, born July 3, 1713, died young; Sarah, born Oct. 11, 1714, 
married William Hickling, Nov. 21, 1734; Penn Townsend, born 
April 9, 1718, mentioned in the will of his grandfather Penn 
Townsend, died before 1739; Mary, born May 21, 1719, married 
Benjamin Tuttle of Chelsea, Feb."^ 14, 1744/5; Eebeckah, born 
May 26, 1722, married William Oliver, son of Capt. Nathaniel 
Oliver of Chelsea, Jan. 6, 1742/3; John, born March 17, 1723; 
John, born March 3, 1727. 

John Sale, married (2) Huldah Belknap of Boston April 16, 
1742. December 29, 1749, He joined the church at Eumney 
Marsh, where he died in September, 1763. By his will, dated 
August 25, 1763, he gave to his wife Huldah the plate she 
brought with her at her marriage, one half his pew in Chelsea 
meeting-house, and also his negro man C^sar for life. (Caesar 
owned the covenant Feb. 12, 1758, and was married March 



260 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

22, 1750, to Susanna, a servant of "Granny Tuttlc") To his 
son John he gave his lands " at the Eastward at great Chebeg & 
Casco Bay " in possession of Colonel Westbrook's and Brigadier 
"Waldo's heirs. To Benjamin Tuttle's daughter Huldah he gave 
20s.; to John Sale Oliver, son of his daughter Rebecca, 20s.; 
to Hex. Phillips Payson, 405. The remainder of his estate was 
to be divided between his wife Huldah and his three children, 
— John Sale, Sarah Hickling, and Rebecca Oliver. The executors 
were his wife Huldah, son John, and Thomas Goldthwait, Esq." 
The farm does not appear in the inventory of his estate ; ^^ it 
descended according to the will of Penn Townsend. The widow 
Huldah Sale died in May, 1780, aged ninety-two." 

The son, John, married Sarah, daughter of John Floyd, April 
7, 1752. She died in June, 1785, aged fifty-nine." He died April 
20, 1803, aged seventy-six.^^ June 24, 1784, John Sale of Chelsea 
conveyed to John Sale, Jr., for £400 lawful money, " my Estate 
for life which I hold in said Chelsea and whereof the said Joh.n 
Sale lunior hath the reversion — the same being bounded on the 
Eastward side by land of the honorable James Bowdoin Esq"" and 
the other sides bounded on Chelsea River excepting one small part 
which adjoins on point Shirley marsh being the homestead place 
whereon I now dwell." ^° 

John Sale, Sr., was for many years deacon of the church at 
Chelsea, but resigned that office April 29, 1798, and presumably 
was not living in the town at the time of his death. The following 
children shared in the distribution of his estate: Anna (born 
1753-30th day 10th month) ; Penn Townsend Sale (born April 
10, 1760) ; Mary (born Nov. 3, 1763), wife of Andrew McFar- 
land; Sarah (born March 22, 1766), wife of John Randall; 
Rebeckah (born March 4, 1769), wife of Walter Perkins.^^ 

November 29, 1797, John Sale, Jr., of Chelsea, married Deborah 
Hobart at Boston. The farm was under his improvement when 
the direct tax was assessed in 1798. His wife died December 18, 
1804, aged thirty-one.^^ Colonel John Sale married (2) Hannah 
Butterfield April 2, 1810.^'' A plan of the "Farm in Chelsea 

" Suff. Prob. Rec, L. G2, f. 445. 

" Ibid., f. 591. 

" Cliurch Records. 

» Ibid. 

" Gravestone. 

>" SufT. Doeds, L. 143, f. 203. 

" SufT. Prob. Rec, L. 103, f. 83; Vital Records of Chelsea. 

" Ciravostone. 

" Church Records. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 13 261 

belonging to the Heirs of the late Col. John Sale," was made 
by Alohzo Lewis, November, 1838. The upland was 129 acres, 
5? rods; the marsh 128 acres, 131 rods; the beach 8 acres, 
3 rods, — a total of some 267 acres.^" This farm, bounded by- 
Sales Creek, Belle Isle Inlet, and Eevere Beach, included within 
its bounds the present Beachmont.] 

=" Suff. Deeds, L. 443, f. 96. 



262 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 



APPENDIX 14 

March 16, 1703/4 "Mr. Dean Winthrop, of Pulling Point, 
dies upon his Birth-day, just about the Breaking of it. lie was 
Taken at eight aelock the evening before, as he sat in his chair, 
sunk first, being set up, he vomited, complain'd of his head, which 
were almost his last words. Hardly spake anything after his 
being in bed. 81 years old. He is the last of Gov'" Winthrop's 
children . . . statione novissimus exit. March, 20. is buried at 
Pulling Point by his son and Three Daughters. Bearers Russel, 
Cooke; Hutchinson, Sewall ; Townsend, Paige. From the House 
of Hasey. Scutcheons on the Pall. I help'd to lower the Corps 
into the Grave. Madam Paige w^ent in her Coach. Maj'"- Gen* 
and Capt. Adam Winthrop had Scarvs, and led the widow. Very 
pleasant day; Went by AVinisiiFiet." ^ 

Sewall's statement that Winthrop was buried at Pullen Point 
is remarkable, for his gravestone is still seen at Kevere, more than 
a mile away from Pullen Point and Winthrop's residence. So was 
Hasey 's house. And yet Sewall, who lowered the corpse into the 
grave, says it was at Pullen Point. This seems decisive; and if 
so, then Winthrop's remains must have been transferred to Rum- 
ney Marsh, where they now lie. [To a dweller in the Boston 
peninsula the line of demarcation between the districts popularly 
known as Rumney Marsh and Pullen Point was presumably in 
ordinary parlance no more definite than that now between Roxbury 
and Dorchester. When the original grant of Pullen Point was 
made to the town of Boston in 1632 it included " the necke of land 
betwixte Powder Home Hill & Pullen Poynte." Note also that 
in the Direct Tax of 1798 the Sale farm, which included within 
its limits the present Beachmont, was accounted a part of Pullen 
Point. Elder Hasey's landing place was on the creek which 
formed the west bound of the Sale farm.] 

TFt7/ of Deane Winilirop ^ 

Jn the Name of God Amen the Twenty ninth day of December 
Anno Dni Seventeen hundred and two J Deane Wintlirop of 

^ Sewall, Diary, ii. 96. 

' Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 15, ff. 273, 274. Tlie will was probated April 27, 
1704. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 14 2G3 

Pullingpoint within the Township of Boston in the County of 
Suffolke in X: England Gent., being of perfect & sound mind 
and Disposeing memory, Doe make and Ordain this my last Will 
and Testam^, as followeth. First J commend my Soul to Almighty 
God, my Body to the Earth, and as touching such worldly Estate 
wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me, J dispose of the same 
in manner following. First I will and Ordain, That all such 
Debts as I shall happen to owe at my decease shall be truely paid 
as they grow due; and that the funeral of my body shall be 
decent and Christian like, at the Discretion of my Exec'"^. herein 
After named. And after my Debts paid and funeral Expences 
deducted- J will and Ordain, That my loveing Wife Martha shall 
have yearly paid unto her the Sum of Twenty pounds a year during 
her Natural life out of the Incomes and profits of my Estate in 
lieu of her Dower and Thirds, And J do also give unto her the 
use & Service of my Negro Woman named Moreah, during my 
Wifes Natural life. Jtem I do will, devise and bequeath unto my 
Grandson lotham Grover, onely the Sum of Five pounds, because 
he is under the care & Tuition of his Grandmother Kent. Item 
J will, devise and bequeath unto my Grandsons Deane Grover & 
John Grover the Sons of my Daughter Margarett, And to my 
Grandaughters Priscilla Adams and Priscilla Haugh, and to their 
heires & Assignes forever, the rest residue and Remainder of all 
my Estate, both Keal & personal, whersoever the same is, can or 
may be found to be equally divided among them, when the Young- 
est shall Attain the Age of Twenty one years or be married, but 
if my Grandaughters Priscilla Adams & Priscilla Haugh shall 
happen to dye before such division of my Estate be made, — 
tlien J will That the Sum of One hundred & fifty pounds currant 
money of New England, or the value thereof in such things as 
the Country doth produce, be paid unto each of their Fathers, 
my Sons in Law Eliah Adams and Atherton Haugh, or unto the 
Father of either or such of said Girls as shall happen to dye under 
Age or not marryed as Aforesaid, — And that after such paym*. 
or paym*^,, the remainder of my s^ Estate shall be Equally shared 
among my said two Grandsons, but if one of them be then dead 
without issue, the Survivor to have the whole; And in case any 
of my said four Grandchildren dye before Age or marriage as 
aforesaid, or without Issue, then the part or Share of Such Grand 
Child or Grandchildren so dying and not leaving Issue shall be 
Ecjually divided among the Survivours — Saving what herein 
before is by me Willed or provided for in case of the Death 
of my s*? two Grandaughters or either of them And if all my 
s*? Grand Children dye before they Attaine their respective Ages 



264: HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

or marriage, & none of them leave Issue, then J will That my 
whole Estate shall descend and come to the next heir Male of 
my name and blood, and to his heires and Assignes forever. Item 
J will and Ordain, That the remainder or Surplusage of the yearly 
Incomes and Improvements of my said Estate Ariseing before 
such division can be made, as J have before Ordered and devised, 
when the s^ Sum of Twenty pounds to my Wife & other necessary s 
charges are Subducted be divided am wag my said Four Grand- 
children proportionably, and that such parts thereof as shall be 
Allotted to my s'^ Grandaughters Priscilla Adams and Priscilla 
Haugh, shall by my Exec'-'^ hereafter named be paid into the hands 
of Eliah Adams and Atherton Haugh, they first giveing Security 
to pay respectively to their s? Daughters, my s^. Grandaughters 
Such Sums of money as on Accompt of that division, they shall 
Severally receive, when their s^ Daugliters shall Attain their said 
Age or Ages of Tw^enty one years or be marryed as af ores'? ; And 
that such proportions as shall so Appertain to my two Grandsons 
who are Fatherless, I w^ould have Improved and Imployed towards 
their Education Jtem Lastly J do make, Constitute & Ordain 
my Worthy Cozens Wait Winthrop EsqF and Adam Winthrop 
Mercht to be ExecV^ of this my last Will to See it performed in 
all things as J have Ordained, And J do hereby Authorize & Im- 
power them or either of them Surviving to Sell all or any part of 
my Estate, if they or either of them Judge it for the benefit of 
my Grandchildren. And J do hereby revoke all former & other 
Wills by me heretofore made. In Witness whereof J have here- 
unto set my hand and Seal the day and year first within written 
Deane Winthrop and a Scale . Signed , Sealed , published & 
Declared by the said Deane Winthrop , as and for his last Will 
and Testament in presence of us . lonathan Bill , John Winthrop 
Jonathan Bill lunF, Joshua Bill./. — Examin*^, ^ Paul Dudley 
Eegv 

AN INVENTORY' of the Estate of M? Dean Winthrop of Pulling 
POINT lately deceased, Vizt The Land, housing, Stock, Servants 

AND household GoODS, BEING AT PULLING POINT, ViZT 

Impis, To a lioiise, barne & 300 Acres of Land, by Estima- 
tion flOOO" — " — 

One Negro man, by name Primas 30 " — " — 

One Nefjro Woman, by name Marrear, & a Boy, by name 

Robbin 30" — " — 

» Suff. Prob. Rec., L. 1,5. f. 330. John Tuttle and James Bill were tbe 
appraisers. This inventory was dated April 28, 1704. and presented to the 
court by the executors September 2, 1704. Executors' account, L. 18, f. 3G8. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 14 265 

1 pr of large Oxen ten years 81' one pr of 3 year old 

Steers 5i.i 13«_«_ 

3 heiffers 3 year old £5 " 5 *" — One Bull 2 year old & 2 

Yearlings 3Ii 8 " .5 " — 

141 Sheep 48} Thirty three Lambs 5} •. . 53" — " — 

3 Sows and one boar 2 year old 3} IG Summer Shoates 71 . 10 " — " — 

One Plough, 3 old plough Shares, 1 old Cart wth a good pr 

of Wheels, a pi' of Spere boxes & hoops, 1 Cart Rope, 

2 Chains, 2 pv of Iron horse Traises, Spade & pick Ax, 

an old harrow wtli 19 Iron Teeth, 3 old houghs, 2 

halfe worne Sithes & Dung fork 4 " — " — 

To Wearing Apparrel £8 " 4 " — ICU old pewter 16} . . 9 " 10 " — 

1 pr Iron Tongus, Grid Iron, Doggs, warming pan, frying 

pan — " 14 " — 

3 pr old SheetSj Table Cloth, 2 Napkins & 2 pillow bears . l " _ " _ 

one Table & Chest 8/. one old Pott and Kettle 14/. ... 1 " .2 " — 

2 old Iron Trammels 6/. an old Iron Spitt & 4 old bass 

chairs 4/ — " 10 " — 

One Fowling piece and three old Musketts .2 " — " — 

1 Feather bed very old, 1 Rugg, 1 Coverlid one blankett . 3 " — " — 

£11G6" 1"— * 

[In 1720 the Deane Winthrop farm was divided behveen John 
G rover and Joseph Belcher. The conveyance recited tliat John 
G rover inherited one fourth of the farm from his grandfather 
Deane Winthrop, purchased one fourth from his brother Deane 
Grover, and another fourth from Hezekiah Butler, who married 
Priscilla Plaugh, a granddaughter of Deane Winthrop ; also that 
Joseph Belcher bought one fourth of the farm from Samuel Eoyal, 
who married Priscilla Adams, granddaughter of Deane Winthrop.^ 
The land assigned in this division to Joseph Belcher was conveyed 
by the widow Elizabeth Belcher June 27, 1748, to Thomas Pratt, 
who conveyed the same in 1752 to Henry Atkins, Thomas Gold- 
thwait and others, who established a fishing station thereon, and 
called it Point Shirley. One hundred forty acres of upland and 
beach, bounded north and west by the heirs of John Grover, 
and on all other sides by the sea, and ten acres of salt marsh 
were conveyed by Pratt to the undertakers of the fishery." This 
included Point Shirley, Great Head, and the beaches.'^ 

* To this total the executors added: "Cash foimd in his chest," 
£43 18s., and " A Quantity of vacant Land, some part lying on this side, 
& some on the other side of Merrimack River near Bilrica, being two 
Several Tracts." 

° Sufi. Deeds, L. 36, f. 216; dated December 2, 1720; acknowledged 
February 16, 1722/3. 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 76, f. 2; L. 81, f. 154; a small parcel of marsh was 
excepted; a dwelling-house was mentioned in 1752. 

' David Floyd of Winthrop has kindly furnished the items which 
follow. 



266 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

By the conveyance above cited, John G rover became sole owner 
of the three hills in the northeast section of the town. He died 
in 1747 leaving a daughter Mary, who married Stephen Whiting 
of Boston. They mortgaged the farm at Pullen Point to Governor 
James Bowdoin, who thus became the owner. Governor Bovvdoin 
died in 1790, and his daughter Elizabeth, who had become Lady 
Temple through her marriage with Sir John Temple, was the 
next owner. After the death of Lady Temple in 1809, the farm 
became the property of her granddaughter Elizabeth Bowdoin 
Temple Winthrop, a descendant of John Winthrop, Governor of 
Massachusetts. Miss Winthrop married Benjamin Tappan, and 
from the trustees of Mrs. Tappan's estate a part of the farm was 
conveyed to David Eloyd in 1854, and in 1866 the remainder was 
sold to the City of Boston.] 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 15 267 



APPENDIX 15 

The Farm of Samuel Bennett 

[According to Savage, Samuel Bennett, a carpenter, came in 
the "James" from London in 1635, aged twentj^-four,^ was a mem- 
ber of the Artillery Company in 1639. Living near the boundary, 
he was accredited first to Lynn, where he received a grant of land. 
His wife Sarah died Jan. 18, 1682/3, aged 75, and was buried 
on Copp's Hill.^ At the time that he purchased six hundred acres 
from Hill and Leverett in 1649, the Iron Works, situated in Lynn 
near the bounds of Boston and Reading, offered a source of profit. 
John Paul, who lived with Bennett several years previous to 1653, 
and whose " constant imployment was to repaire carts, coale carts, 
mine carts, and other working materials for his teemes," testified 
in 16T1 that "my master Bennet did yearly yearne a vast sum 
from the said Iron Works, for he commonly yearned forty or fifty 
shillings a daye . . . for he had five or six teemes goeing generally 
every faire day." ^ 

Samuel Bennett's estate in Boston, purchased from Valentine 
Hill and John Leverett in 1649, and John Cogan in 1653, was 
known a century later as " Chelsea Pan Handle." It was a long 
narrow strip of land extending between Charlestown and Lynn 
bounds from the Pines Eiver to Eeading. The boundary-line on 
Charlestown side was determined before Bennett purchased the 
land by a committee appointed by the General Court : * 

" Agreed by vs, whose names are vnder Avritten, that the bounds 
betwcene Boston & Charles Towne, on the nor east syde Misticke 
R}Ter, shall run from the mked tree vpon the rocky hill above 
Kumney Marshe, neere the written tree nore-nore west vpon a 
straight lyne by a meridean compas vpp into the countrie. 

Abraham Palmer, 
WiLL^ Cheesebrough, 
Will" Spencer." 

' According to a deposition dated December 13, 1G7G, he was then about 
68 years of age. Lewis places him in Lynn in 1G30. 

* Lewis and Newhall, Lynn (ed. 18G5), 172; 119, 212, 21G; Whitmore, 
Copp's Hill Epitaphs, No. 1838. 

' Lewis and Newhall, Lynn, 259; Records of SufT. County Court (1070- 
1681), 387, etc. 

* Mass. Col. Rec, i. 162. 



208 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Cu.u>. VI 

This was in 1636. The General Court in 1639 appointed John 
Oliver, Abraham Palmer and Tymothy Tomlins to settle the 
bounds between Charlestown, Boston, and Lynn above Eumney 
Marsh, if they could ; if they could not agree, they were to certify 
to the Court how they found the matter.^ Earlier efforts had 
proved unavailing,^ but this committee reached an agreement: 

" Wee whose name are vnderwritten beinge appoynted by the 
Court to settle the bounds betweene Bostone and Lin haue agreed 
to run a nor. northwest Line into y^ Countrie from a tree marked, 
standinge close to Brides brooke. neere to the foote path, to be 
run by a Meridian Compasse, the propriety" of any lands laid out 
to the inhabitants of Linn beinge not disturbed. 

" An. 1639. subscribed by Abraham Palmer. Tymoth. Tomlins, 
John Olliuer." ' 

December 3, 1656, Samuel Bennett of Lynn and Sarah his wife 
conveyed to George Wallace, gentleman, for £355, £205 in cash 
and the balance secured by bond, " a farme howse at A place 
Called Pumly marish ... in Boston . . . called Eumly Hall 
. . . with the barne there vnto belonging as also a howse standing 
on the North side of the sajd farme howse w*^ vpland and 
marish." ^ April 2, 1657, George Wallace reconveyed the land to 
Samuel Bennett, who released him at his request from his bond. 
The deed recites that Wallace, his son, and two men had their 
" Diett" at Bennett's house from November 1, 1656, to March 25, 
1657, and that the farm had benefitted by " all y^ worke y* m'" 
wallis and his men Did on my farme which they leave behind them 
to my vse." ® 

December 29, 1656, during the tenancy of George W^allace, the 
selectmen of Boston voted : " Itt is agreed that att the next gen- 
erall court motion bee made by our Deputyes that the line be- 
tweene Boston and Lynn may bee determined by the said court." 
At the May session of the General Court in 1657 the following 
order was passed : " In ans^ to a petition from the inhabitants of 
Boston for laying out the bounds betweene Boston & Lynne, it is 
ordered, that Leift Joshua Fisher, of Dedham, or whom els they 
should appoint, shallbe & is hereby appointed to lay out the sajd 
bounds, & to runne a north north west IJne into the country 
from the middle of Brides Brooke, neere to the ffoote path, 
to be runne by a meridian compas, the propriety of any lands layd 

» Mass. Col. Rec, i. 263. 

« Ibid., 149 (July 8, 1635) ; 254 (March 13, 1638/9). 

' Boston Rec. Com. Rep., vii. 47. 

» Suff. Deeds, L. 2, f. 310. 

• Ibid., L. 3, fT. 13, 14. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 15 269 

out to the inhabitants of Lynne being not disturbed, according to 
iigreement." ^'^ 

June 1, 1661, Samuel Bennett of Eumly Marish presented a 
long petition " to the Selectmen of Boston. In it he recited that 
Lieutenant Fisher of Dcdham under appointment in 1657 by the 
General Court ran the line between Boston and Lynn. Bennett then 
entered five complaints against Thomas Wheeler of Lynn. Wheeler 
laid out " a way from Reading to Lyn through my Corne feild & 
soe farr on this side of y® Jronworks towards Boston . almost to 
John Andrews house & soe about to Lyn which will bee with grcate 
dammage as J conceiue to Boston Towne " ; he sold timber from 
Boston lands; he contended that Mr. Fishers line was not run 
•aright ; he had John Gardner of Salem run the line privately so 
as to " take away a great Trackt of Land from Boston " for " the 
said John Gardiner gaue noe allowance for y^ Variation of the 
Compasse ; as he told Majo"" Hathorne as y*^ Majo"" Hathorne doth 
testifie, which is y® practise of Artists in this Countrey . viz. to 
allow for y*^ Variation of y® Miridian Compasse." ^^ Finally, 
Thomas Wheeler had drawn up a petition to the General Court to 
void Fisher's survey on the ground that the line had not been run 
to the farthest bounds, that is to Reading, but with the intention 
" to frustrate the Towne of Boston from haueing almost any 
pprietie there in y* land & doe great dammage to mee in pticuler 
whoe am Jnhabiting in Boston bounds. Wherefore," he concludes, 
" J doe Commend y^ Consideration of it to you y^ select men of 
Boston y*^ J may haue y*" assistance y* J may not be wronged of 
my rights in o^ owne bounds & do therefore desire as y® select men 
of Lyn are willing vnto it the lyne may be run & finished by 
Leiutenant ffisher of Dedham & Ensigne jSToice of Sudburrough." 
He signs as " Yo*" Loving freind & one of yo^' owne Jnhabitants. 
Samuell Bennett." 

June 24, 1661, the selectmen of Boston recorded that they had 
agreed with the selectmen of Lynn to have the line run by Lieu- 
tenant Fisher and John Gardiner, " if to bee had, or some other 
Artist." Yet the order for running the line was not given until 
March 31, 1662, April 22 being the day appointed. April 28, the 
selectmen received " the returne of Leu*^ Fisher Cap* Olliuer, 
Joshua Scottow and John Tuttle," who met the townsmen of Lynn 
at Brides Brook. " Lent. Fisher set his compas, but himeselfe 

" Mass. Col. Rec, iv. Pt. i. 298. 

" Original Papers. City Clerk's Office, i. 13. A. D. S. 

" See Journol of Mass. House of Rep.. 17C3, appendix, p. xxxi. for a table 
of the past and prospective variations of the compass in New England, 
1G73-1800, prepared by Professor John Winthrop of Harvard, 



270 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

and their Artist not agreeinge of the variation, they desired 
to know, of the said Townsmen, wheather in case, we sent for M"" 
Damforth who was to be vmpire wheather theay would submitt to 
his determination, theay replied noe for theare Towne was rea- 
solued to put it to the Gennerall Court, vnles theire Artists could 
agree to runn without varacion." According to an entry of May 
16, 16G2 : " The Lynne betwix* Linn & Boston was agreed vpon 
betwixt the Select men of each Towne as appears by Artickles 
boring date y^ 12 May 1662 " " The text of this agreement has 
not been found, but the line was described April 22, 1671. The 
report of Elisha Hutchinson states that "beinge desired by the 
Selectmen of Lin to run a line w'^^ is betwene Boston land or 
Eather m"" S"' Benits land & land belonging to Lin, I did Run 
(a line Nor Nor West by a meredian Compas, or an nedle touched, 
which hes no Variation alowed) from the midle of bride brooke 
vntill we Came to Eeding line as we supposed; And nere the 
Scotch house at a Crotched black Oake with a heape of Stones 
about it, we fell about fower Rods & a halfe to the westwards, 
towards Boston land, . . . and in the line ouer against Richard 
Georges house we fel aboute as much from a former mark . . . 
as we did at the Scotch house, this Line was Run 22 Apr: 1671 
according to my best art & Skill." This line was accepted March 
30, 1675, by the p<?rambulators appointed by Boston and Lynn.^* 
The perambulators of April 16, 1678, stated that the line was run 
" according to an agreement made between the two towns afores^ 
with m"" Samuel Bonnet " May 15, 1662, and ran " N : N : west by 
y'^ Compass, or needle without allowing any thing for veriation; 
which Line is paralel to y^ Line betwixt Boston and Maiden as it 
had been formerly Run." It passed through land of Goodman 
Edmonds, and near Goodman George's house, and left the " Scotch 
house" within Lynn bounds. ^^ In 1681 the selectmen of Lynn 
were engaged in a lawsuit over lands northeast of this line claimed 
by William Brown by title derived from Bennett.^" 

December 20, 1658, Samuel Bennett with his wife Sarah, for 
" all debts formerly due by him . . . vnto willjam ffranckljn " and 
£66., conveyed to Phebe flPrancklin of Boston, widow of said 
William, a farmhouse with 300 acros.^^ May 21, 1673, Peter Coffin 

" Boston Rec. Com. Rep., vii. 4, 7, 8, 10. 

" Original Papers, City Clerk's Oflice, i. 19, return of the perambulators 
of 107;) with autograph signatures; Boston Rec. Com. Rep., vii. 60, 94. 

" Original Papers, City Clerk's Office, i. 22; Boston Rec. Com. Rep., 
vii. 119, 120. For Scotch house see Essex Co. Court Papers, iv. 55. 

" Chamberlain MSS., iv. 3-17. See also Essex Co. Court Papers, L. 
87-93. 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 3, f. 290; recorded May 18, 1660. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 15 271 

of Dover with his wife Abigail conveyed one half of the above for 
£G0 to Thomas Brattle of Boston, merchant. It was provided that 
'' when it is measured & laid out by a skilfuU artist if there shall 
want but fiue acres of the sd three hundred acres it shall be tacken 
& receuied for Satisfaction & if it shall want more the sd Coffin is 
to make it full three hundred acres." July 2, 1673, Benj. Muzzey 
conveyed to Thomas Brattle for £77 the other half of the 
farm with *'' ffarme-house & Barne . . . gardens orchards trees 
ffences." ^® In 1678 and 1681 Captain Thomas Brattle was one 
of the perambulators of the Ljoin-Boston line. March 13, 1683/4, 
the Probate Court approved a division of the estate of Captain 
Thomas Brattle by which this farm of 300 acres, " lying on Rum- 
ncy Marsh side " in Boston, with the salt-marsh thereto belonging, 
— both in the tenure and occupation of Gershom Davis/^ — were 
assigned to Nathaniel Oliver, John Eyre and Joseph Parson in 
right of their wives, three of the seven children of Capt. Thomas 
Brattle. October 13, 1685, Nathaniel Oliver with his wife Eliza- 
beth, and Joseph Parsons with his wife Bethiah conveyed their 
rights in this farm, still described as in the occupation of Gershom 
Davis, to John Eyre and his wife Katharine. Reference is made 
to a plat of the land by James Taylor surveyor.^*' February 4, 
1686/7 John and Katherine Eyre for £200 conveyed the same, 
still in the occupation of Gershom Davis, to William Boardman of 
Maiden, joyner. It was then bounded on the one side by the 
Maiden line; on the other side by the Lynn line and Reading 
road, which ran " between the above granted farm and the farm of 
Daniel Hutchins." On the S.E. lay the farm of John White ; on 
tlie N.W. that of Isaac Waldron deceased. In March, 1692/3, 
AVilliam Boardman was chosen constable for Rumney Marsh. He 
died March 14, 1696, aged 38, and was buried at Maiden. August 
6, 1696, his widow Sarah was appointed administratrix of his 
estate.-^ March 14, 1705/6, Thomas Cheever of Lynn with his 
wife Jlarv, and Lydia Boardman of Lynn, for £235 7s. current 
money, quitclaimed to William Boardman of Lynn, 3'eoman, their 
right in the real and personal estate of their father William Board- 
man deceased, including this farm of 300 acres in Boston, bounded 
on tlie south by Jeremiah Belcher; W. by land which was Maiden 
Common ; N. by Francis Smith and Walden's farm ; E. by Lynn 
Common and the road from Reading to Lynn. The estate included 

» Siiff. Deeds, L. 9, flf. 123, 124. 
" Supra, p. 150, note 2. 
"• Suff. Deeds, L. 13, ff. 96, 380. 

'^ Ibid., L. 24, f. 21; Maiden Vital Records; Suff. Prob. Rec., L. 11, 
f. 189. Inventory, ibid., i. 190. 



272 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

also a six-acre lot in Lvnn marshes; one half of Squire's meadow 
in Maiden, and one half of a six-acre lot of salt-marsh in Lynn. 
Thomas Cheever reserved one half the latter for himself. Mary 
Cheever and Lydia Boardman made their mark. The deed was 
acknowledged before Nicholas Paige at Rumney Marsh March 2, 
1708/9.-- According to the return of the perambulators of IT 11 
the boundary line of Lynn passed from an oak in Sarah Paul's 
land to a tree in William Boardman's land, and thence " across the 
Eiver " and " through the Stack of Chimnyes " in his dwelling- 
house; in 1717 B was marked on one side of his door and L on the 
other. In 1732 the line ran " across a small rivulet " to the door 
of Boardman's house marked B.L, through the stack of chimneys, 
and " across a small brook " to a stump in his field. The division 
of this house between two towns led to tax disputes. In 1708 the 
selectmen of Boston directed the constable to levy the poll taxes 
on the estate by distress in order to bring the matter before the 
courts, as for three years preceding the " same Polls " had been 
rated both to Boston and to Lynn. Boardman's barn and the 
greater portion of his farm, the selectmen asserted, lay in Boston, 
where the polls had been rated and paid " time out of minde here 
to fore." ^^ 

The children of AVilliam (2) Boardman by his wife Abiah, 
recorded at Lynn were: William, born July 29, 1710;' John, 
August 26, 1712; Marj-, March 25, 1716;* Sarah, March 18, 
1719/20; Sarah, May 11, 1722 (presumably married Francis 
Smith of Reading, 1746) ; Aaron, March 14, 1724/5 (married 
Mary Cheever of Lynn); Amos, March 12, 1727/8; Samuel, 
July 27, 1731. December 30, 1752, William Boardman of Chelsea 
conveyed to Aaron Boardman for £450 " one Dwelling house, 
partly in the Town of Lynn and partly in the Town of Chelsea, 
and Barn with about two hundred acres of Land being the said 
William Boardmans Dwelling house and homestead he now lives 
on partly in the town of Lynn, and the biggest part in the Town 
of Chelsea." It was bounded southerly by land of Joshua Cheever, 
easterly by the Country road, by land of David Potter, by land of 
John Boardman, and by the Lynn line; northerly by land sold 
off from said premises; westerly by six acres sold to William 
Boardman, Jr., by the Maiden line and by other land of said 
William Boardman, Jr. The conveyance also included the negro 

''^ Suff. Deeds, L. 24, ff. 142, 143. See also L. 82, f. 147. Thomas Cheever 
was a son of Rev. Thomas Cheever of Rumney Marsh. 

*' Boston Rec. Com. Rep., viii. 85; xi. 70; Original Papers, cited above, 
ii. 16. 



I 
1 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 15 273 

man named Mark, and all the personal estate of the grantee. On 
the same day William Boardman conveyed to John Boardman 
(of Lynn) for £200, fifty-five acres bounded northerly, westerly, 
and southerly by land of Aaron Boardman; easterly by the coun- 
try road (Lynn to Heading), by land of said John, and by land of 
Aaron Felt. By a conveyance (undated) acknowledged at Lynn 
January 8, 1753, William Boardman conveyed to William Board- 
man, Jr., for £200 fifty- two acres " whereon his Dwelling house 
and Barn stands," bounded westerly by the Maiden line, southerly 
by Joshua Cheever, easterly and northerly by land of Aaron Board- 
man ; also six acres of woodland. Abiah Boardman released her 
right of dower. Presumably William Boardman, Sr., died before 
February 12, 1754, as on that date Aaron Boardman of Chelsea 
conveyed to Amos Boardman for £106 twenty six and one half 
acres bounded northerly by "land of which William Bordman of 
Chelsea died seized." ^* ' 

William (3) Boardman married Elizabeth Hill of Maiden, 
where the intention of marriage was recorded September 7, 1735. 
He was described as of Lynn. The children of William and Eliz- 
abeth Boardman, recorded at Chelsea, were: William, born 1736- 
15th day-lst month; Benjamin, 1737-7-4; Bethesda, 1741-12- 
11; Thomas, 1744-15-1; Nathaniel, 1749-16-8. May 20, 1758, 
AYilliam (3) Boardman, "being engaged in an Expedition against 
his Majesty's Enemies of the French & Jndian Nations, which I 
think I have entered into with Seriousness & Deliberation," exe- 
cuted a will, in Avhich he designated his eldest son William Board- 
man executor and residuary legatee, " desiring him to consult & 
take the advice of the Eeverend Ml" Joseph Roby in his Management 
& disposall of his Younger brothers." To each of his sons, Ben- 
jamin, Thomas, Nathaniel, and Joseph, he bequeathed £20 payable 
when they were twenty-one years of age. Thomas was " to be 
speedily put an Apprentice to a Master of good credit & of such 
trade or Occupation as he the said Thomas shall chuse." Na- 
thaniel and Joseph were to be supported by the estate until four- 
teen, and were to be taught " the Principles of the Christian 
Religion," also " reading writing and cyphering so far as is Nec- 
essary for a Tradesman: And as each of my said two Sons Na- 
thanael & Joseph arrive to the age of fourteen Years, then my 
said Son William Bordman shall put or Cause [them] to be put 
to Apprentice ... to good Masters of Credit & Reputation, & of 
such trade or Occupation as they or each of them shall Chuse, 

" Vital Records of Lynn; Suff. Deeds, L. 81, ff. 2.'^3, 235; L. 82, f. 147; 
L. 92. f. 175. 

VOL. I. — 18 



274 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

untill they or each of them Arrive to the age of Twenty-one 
Years." The will was probated May 29, 1761. April 14, 1758, 
AVilliam Boardman of Chelsea enlisted as a private under Captain 
Slocomb in Colonel Joseph Williams' regiment for the expedition 
against Canada. With other members of his company he received 
billeting money from the day of enlistment until May 27, and 
during that period executed his will. Doubtless he took part in 
the expedition against Louisburg (May 28 to July 26). He was 
reported as discharged November 1, 1758. April 2, 1759, William 
Boardman of Chelsea enlisted in an independent company under 
Captain Thomas Goldthwait. It was then stated that he had 
served on a former expedition against Canada. 

A petition by William Boardman, dated June 7, 1754, illustrates 
the tax collectors difficulties. He was thrown into the jail at 
Boston for two hundred odd pounds due the Province as Collector 
of Taxes in Chelsea. The General Court authorized his release 
on giving bonds, and allowed him twelve months in which to 
collect the taxes due. But he spent ten months in the jail before 
he could find bondsmen, because they " doubted of y^ Memorialists 
Estate till that Time." Two months after his release, he had paid 
£40, hoped in a few days to pay £60 more, and asked for an exten- 
sion of time. An extension of six months was granted.-^ 

When the direct tax of 1798 was assessed Aaron Boardman was 
occupant and owner of the house abovementioned, one half of which 
was valued at $121, " the other Half of the House Lying in Lynn 
& owned by the same Man." It was of two stories and was " Yerry 
Old " ; the half in Boston covered 600 feet and had nine windows. 
Aaron Boardman owned 140 acres lying between William Board- 
man and the L^mn line, with Phillips Payson to the south ($1400) ; 
also 60 acres of woodland ($480), and six acres of salt-marsh 
($90). At the death of Aaron Boardman the Lynn side of the 
house was set off to his widow. A conveyance dated in 1806 shows 
that the house stood on the north side of the road from Maiden 
to Lynn, while the road from Beading to Lynn passed the farm 
to the east of the house. Elias Bryant of Stoneham with his wife 
]\Iary, James Floyd of Chelsea with his wife Eunice, Lydia Board- 
man of Chelsea single, and Joseph Cheever of Lynn with his wife 
Huldah, — all daughters of Aaron Boardman, — quitclaimed to 
Abijah Boarchnan their rights in the estate of their mother, Mary 
Boardman. April 13, 1754, the intention of marriage of Aaron 
Boardman of Chelsea and Mary Cheever of Lynn was filed at 

» Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 59, f. 19; Mass. Archives, xcvi. 114, 298, 492; 
xcvii. 100; xliv. 1. See also xcix. 2G, G9, 77, 368, 370. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 15 275 

Chelsea. They were married September 26, 1754. She was the 
daughter of Thomas and Eunice Cheever, was born May 4, 1733, 
and died September 14, 1805.-*^ 

In 1798 William Boardman owned 49 acres lying between Aaron 
Boardman and tlie ]\Ialden line, with Phillips Payson on the 
south and Thomas Hills on the north ; also a house, which covered 
1238 feet, had two stories and 19 windows, and was " Verry Old"; 
also a barn 30 X 28. The total valuation of house and land was 
$898. 

To return to the seventeenth century and Samuel Bennett's 
farm, on December 5, 1605, " Jn° Gifford Aged 40 " or there- 
abouts deposed that about the year 1663/4 at the request of his 
kinswoman Mrs. Hargrave, wife of Captain William Hargrave, 
mariner, of " Horsley downe neere London," he inquired of Sam- 
uel Bennett what estate he would settle upon his son Samuel in 
case he married her daughter. Bennett replied that he would 
" possess him w*^*^ that estate that now he is dwelling in ; in the 
road way Betweene Boston & lynne which was worth as he then 
sajd eight hundred pounds, and also he would add fowe"" score 
pounds stocke of Catle," on condition that Samuel Bennett, Jr., 
should not alienate the lands, and should engage to pay said 
Samuel, Sr., an annuity of £20 if the latter " stood in need 
thereof." December 7, Samuel Maverick deposed that Bennett 
promised to convey the house " w*^*^ barnes stables & all other 
outhouses orchards gardens, & all the vpland & meadow fenced 
in belonging at present to the aforesajd farme w*^ seuerall ake^'s 
of woodland adjacent & eighty pound worth of stocke " with the 
same conditions as above. These depositions were recorded at the 
request of Samuell Bennett, Jr.-" 

October 16, 1666, Samuel Bennett of Boston, gentleman, con- 
veyed the lands above promised to Samuel Bennett, Jr., and his 
wife Sarah, daughter of Captain AVilliam Hargrave of London, for 
life, then to the " male heirs of his body lawfully l^egotten " with 
reversion in case of failure of such heirs to said Samuel Bennett, 
Sr., and the " male heirs of his body being lawfully begotten viz* : 
John Bennet & Elisha Bennet & their Male heirs ... & soe from 
Generation to Generation for Ever." He conveyed " his now 
Dwelling house w*^ the barn^ out houses garden Orchards with 
a feild inclosed of corne land & a parcell of Salt Marsh in the 
Same feild, & containing about fifty Acres be it more or lesse, 

"" Suff. Deeds, L. 218, f. 72, November 10, 1806; L. 133, f. 175. See 
also L. 193, ff. 90, 91. 
=" Ibid., L. 4, f. 328. 



-276 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

as also a parcell of upland or Pasture land adjoyning thereunto 
upon the North West ... of about five hundered Acres more or 
less," — Kumney Marsh Creeke lying S.E., Maiden common S.W., 
a spruce swamp N.W. From the swamp the line " goeth to the 
place where Wilkinson Set up his hay Stack fro whence it goeth by 
a Small Brooke or Runn that goeth into the Swamp, that lyeth 
before the Now dwelling house of Eichard George, on of the said 
Bonnets Tennants bounded on the North-East, with bridge brooke 
at the foote & upwards with the lands of William Edmands in 
part, & with the farme of Edward Baker in part, & with the 
farme of William Merriam all upon the North-East side," that 
is, in Lynn. This deed was recorded Jan. 20, 1670/71 ; from 
the endorsements thereon it appears to have been produced in 
court.'** 

March 1, 1G71/2, Samuel Bennett with his wife Sarah conveyed 
to his son John Bennett for £100 their farm of 700 acres " Layed 
out as it was formerly vnto my son Samuell Bennett." This deed 
was proved by the testimony of witnesses February -1, 1673/4; re- 
corded February 12, 1673/4, and, according to a marginal record, 
acknowledged by Samuel Bennett March 7, 1673/4.^" In the 
meantime, June 28, 1073, Samuel Bennett with his wife Sarah 
conveyed the same farm of 700 acres to Elisha Bennett. It was 
described as bounded S. by a salt water creek; W. by Benj. Muzzey, 
Brian Bradeene and the Maiden line; N. by Long pond & 
John Wilkinson; ranging down from said Wilkinson by the brow 
of an hill to land of Tego Barrow, and being also bounded on the 
E. by William Merriam, Edward Baker and William Edmonds 
(i.e. by Lynn) to "Bridges brooke." This deed was recorded 
July 2, 1673.='° March 19, 1673/4, John Bennett of Rumly-marsh, 
mariner, conveyed to Elisha Bennett, mariner, one half of this 
farm. The saltwater creek to the south of the farm was said to 
run from Brides Brooke to Captain Caines (Keayne's) bridge. 
On the east the line ran from John Wilkinson's land " partly by 
a Swampe or brooke that runs downe to an house that is now or 
late in the tenure and occupation of Thomas Stocker," and by 
Merriam, Baker, and Edmunds to " Brides brooke." Both John 
and Elisha Bennett mortgaged their lands that year.^^ 

February 2, of the same year, Samuel Bennett granted to his son 
John Bennett his " Six Oxen, and Six Cowes now vpon my farme 

«» Suff. Deeds, L. 7, ff. 7G-78. 

» Ibid., L. 8, f. 294. 

""> Ibid., L. 8, f. 188. 

»' Ibid., L. 8, ff. 339, 388, 39G-398. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 15 277 

where J live, and all my vtensells, as Carts ploughs, yoakes, 
chaines, wheels &c all which said vtensells are to be vallued by 
Two indifferent men, the price of which said vtensells the said 
John Bennet is forthwith to pay his said father for . . . the 
a foresaid Oxen & Cowes to be at his free and full dispose." ^^ 
John Bennett leased the farm and stock to Dr. Waldron. In 
1676 a lawsuit arose, during which Elizabeth George, aged about 
50, testified that she was " present at M^" AYaldrons farme house, 
when m^' Samuel Bennet tooke a paire of Jron Doggs oat 
of his house " and " from offe m"" Waldrons farme, Three Oxen 
Two Cowes, & two heifers," that " neither she nor any other of m"" 
"Waldrons Servants . . . did . . . assist him or them," and " that 
m'" Waldron her master was not then present, neither did he give 
any order to her, or any other of his Servants in writeing, or send 
any as he was wonted to do, if he desired any considerable thinge 
to be done, and furthermore she testifyeth, that after the Cattle 
was taken away she happened to see John Bennet, & told him that 
the Cattle was gone as abouesaid, and desired to know of him 
what he would do about them, his answer was they was m*" Wal- 
drons, and that he would require them at his hands, and therefore 
would not stirr a step after them, so after this discourse she told 
her master how things was and further saith not." ^^ Benjamin 
Mussy and John Iflood (Floyd) assisted Bennett to drive the 
cattle to " old Goodman Chaddocks pasture." The andirons were 
carried to the house of Benjamin Muzzy. A suit for them was 
instituted in the County Court, and carried by appeal to the 
Court of Assistants, although Muzzy asserted that " those And- 
irons or such like [never] sould att the Jron workes where they 
were made for above thirty shilling in Comon pay." Also if 
Waldron was absent it was because after he " had bid said Bennet 
take away said Dogs ; said Waldron went to his owne ffarme ^* 
to order goodm : George to bring away the two oxen hee had there 
at worke And to deliuer them to said Bennet." ^^ What chiefly 
impressed Samuel Bennett was that he got no money either for 
the andirons or for the oxen. When he arrived with the latter at 
Goodman Chaddock's, " Joseph Armitage, to whome he delivered 

'^ Chamberlain MSS., iii. 196; a certified copy. According to an en-, 
dorsement the signature of Samuel Bennett was sworn to by one of the 
witnesses, November 28, 1G76. 

•'" Ibid., iv. 7. 

" Dr. Waldron had purchased from John Bennett a farm near Reading 
line. 

^' Reasons of Appeal of Benjamin Muzzy, February 27, 1G7G/7. D. S. 
Chamberlain MSS., iv. 5. The judgment was reversed. Records of Court 
of Assistants, i. 79. 



278 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

the al)Ovcsd oxen said, that whereas he was indebted to liim lie 
would have the Two Oxen for it. So that if he did sell them 
he had nothing for them." "" During a lawsuit about an imper- 
fect land-title John Floyd said it was well known that Samuel 
Bennett, Sr., " sold everything he could for drink." ^' 

May 19, 1671, Samuel Bennett for £5 in cash and £25 to be paid 
conveyed to Brian Bredane of Maiden 10 acres bounded E. by 
a hedge on said Bennett's land, N. by " a cart way that goes downe 
to the Brooke neer to y^ white oake marked with a letter M. on the 
one side and B. on the other," AV. by the Maiden line. He was 
given permission to cart wood to the said Bennett's landing place 
in winter. December 25, 1672, Bennett gave possession on the 
premises ; July 8, 1674, the witnesses to the delivery of possession 
made oath thereto, and the deed was recorded.^^ July 3, 1704, 
Elislia Bennett, then owner of the entire farm, quoting his father's 
deed, quitclaimed to Bryan Bredeane this land, " where the said 
Bredane now lives." East of where the old hedge stood in 1671 
was the land of John "Waite. The conveyance mentions the cart 
way and the " white oak formerly marked." ^^ In the return of the 
perambulators of the Boston and Maiden bounds in 1732 and 1.735 
one boundary-mark stood near " Mr. Bredeens fence." Berry 
owned land to the north and Samuel Jenkins that across the line in 
Maiden. 

The will of Briant Breeden of Eumney Marsh, dated April 17, 
1716, was probated September 26, 1720. He gave to his daughters, 
Abigail and Mary Breeden, his personal estate within doors, a 
cow, twenty pounds, and the right to live in the east end of the 
house so long as they remained unmarried, and to cut fire wood 
from the farm. I'o his sons, James and Samuel Breeden, he gave 
the remainder of his estate, except the land he had already given 
to his son Samuel by deed of gift. If one son sold, he was to sell 
to the other, " and not to sell out of the name of the Breedens." *'^ 
The witnesses were Hugh and Benjamin Floyd, John Leath. The 
births of two children were recorded as of Maiden, Elizabeth in 
November, 1668, Samuel in 1671. September 22, 1720, James 

'" Certified copy of Bennett's testimony in Waldron vs. Bassett. Cham- 
berlain MSS., iv. 8; Records of Court of Assistants, i. 78. The judgment 
in favor of Wahlron was afiirmed, presumably because the conveyance 
from Samuel to John Bennett mentioned cattle but not household utensils. 

" SufT. Early Court Files. 26.101; Middlesex County Court Records 
(1671-1681), 1.58; ibid., SuflF. County (1671-1680), 406," 407. 

^« SufT. Deeds, L. 8. f. 439. 

"" IhifJ., L. 21, f. 680. 

«« Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 21, f. 810. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 15 279 

Breedeane of Kittery, York County, Maine, quitclaimed to his 
brother Samuel Breedeane of Boston his right to his father's real 
estate and out-of-door moveables. The consideration was ten 
pounds, and the payment of their father's debts and legacies. 
This was acknowledged at Lynn on the same day.*^ The land con- 
tinued in the possession of the family until March 27, 1786, when 
it was conveyed by Jacob Breden of Chelsea to Edward and Caleb 
Pratt for thirty pounds lawful money. There were ten acres 
" with a dwelling house and hovell on said land." The abutters 
were Samuel, Joseph, David, and John Waite, Benjamin Hender- 
son and widow Farrington in Kumney Marsh; and Daniel Chad- 
wick, William Harris, and Benjamin Waite on the Maiden line.^^ 
Edward Pratt and Caleb Pratt 3d were taxed for this land in 
1798. It was described as "pine land" and "verry poor," and 
was valued at $100. No buildings were listed. Presumably it 
was the land in the extreme N. W. corner of Eevere assigned on 
Hopkins' Atlas to Pratt and to W. 0. Hall. 

May 6, 1672, Samuel Bennett for £35 conveyed to Benj. Muzzey 
the " further pasture," bounded S. W. by the creek and N. W. 
by the Maiden line, touching at one end the bridge across the creek 
on the road from Winnisimmet to Lynn. July 16, additional land 
adjoining thereto was conveyed. The latter was described as 
" Land on the high Rocks . . . about the place comonly called 
written trees," and was bounded W. by said Muzzey and the Maiden 
line to Bredane's Land ; jST. by land of Brian Bredane " formerly 
bought of mee the s*^ Bennet as the old Logg fence now is to a 
gapp or old cart way leading to clapboard Swamp " ; E. by land 
of said Bennet " by a Cart way " ; S. by the " Country way," 
that is, the road from Winnisimmet to Lynn. October 13, 1674, 
John Bennett quitclaimed to Muzzey both parcels.*^ The creek 
mentioned above separated the first parcel from the Keayne farm, 
of which Muzze}^ was at one time tenant.'** There was a house 
on this farm, of 40 acres according to a conveyance of November 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 34, f. 261. 

" Jhid., L. 156, f. 113. Breeden sold a wood lot of six acres to John 
Batts, L. 157, f. 232. It was bounded east by Samuel Berry, north by 
Mr. Henderson, soiith by Daniel Chaddock, west by Samuel Wait on 
Maiden line. According to the conveyance to Bryant Bredean from Elisha 
Bennett, January 17, 1708/9, this lot measured forty poles on the Maiden 
line. L. 30, f. 202; L. 157, f. 233. According to the Chelsea Town 
Records, Jacob Breedeen died March 14, 1787, aged 76, according to the 
church records. His wife Hannah died in January, 1780, aged 68. 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 9, ff. 420, 421. 

" Infra, chap. xix. 



260 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. Vl 

19, 1696, from Elislia Bennett to John AVaite, son-in-law of 
Benj. Muzzey."*^ Jolin Waite owned land also in Maiden, where 
he was born. His father, John Waite, and his grandfather, 
Joseph Hills, were the most prominent citizens of ]Malden, rep- 
resenting it in the General Court for the first thirty-four years 
of its existence as a town.*** The name of David Waite a,ppeared 
on the direct tax of 1798 as owner of a portion of this land. 
Adjacent owners were Joseph Wait and John Wait, Jr. This was 
tiie land assigned to J. H. Eicker and T. Horley (or T. Hurty) 
on Hopkins' Atlas, the land north of Black Ann's Corner on 
either side of Salem Street, including the land on which the 
schoolhouse stands. 

June 12, 1672, Samuel Bennett for £6 cash and £51 to be 
paid later conveyed to Teagiie a Barrow of Eumney Marsh, 30 
acres bounded N.E. by the L}Tin line, " Namely the Line Last run 
& is called by the name of the parralell Line," beginning in said 
line at the field of Goodman Mirriam's; N.W. by said Bennett, the 
line crossing from the Lynn boundary W. towards the " Eocks " to 
a walnut stump ; S.W. by said Bennett, " there beeing seuerall 
trees marked on the Sides of the Eocks," to a great red oak " by 
the brooke that runs downe to Goodman Mirriams feild " ; S.E. 
by said Bennett. He excepted land S.W. of said parallel line be- 
longing to Goodman Mirriam (of Lynn). Ho granted rights of 
common for cattle and for firewood for life; also a right of way 
through Bennett's lands, " and a Cartway to the Creeke or water 
side at the vsuall Landing place through the s^ Bennetts Marsh 
both in Winter & sumer tymes." He gave possession on the 
premises in the presence of John Wayte, John Dowlittle, and Ben- 
jamin Muzzy June 12, 1672 ; and acknowledged the deed Novem- 
ber. 15, 1672. June 9, 1674, John and Elisha Bennett quitclaimed 
this land to Teague a Barrow. The deed recites that Samuel 
Beanett before the date of his deed to Barrow had conveyed the 
farm to his son John, and said John had since granted one half 
the farm to his brother Elisha. ■*' 

July 29, 1674, John and Elislia Bennett of Bimily Marsh, mar- 
iners, for £180 conveyed to Nathaniel Greenwood of Boston, ship- 
wright, and John White of Boston, joiner, 200 acres more or less, 
bounded S.W. by land of said John and Elisha, land of John 
Wilkinson, and the IMalden line; N.W. by land of Tliomas Brattle 

« Suff. Deeds, L. 14, f. 443; L. 17, f. 325; L. 35, f. 1G3. See also 
infra, the appendix to chap. xxi. 

« Corey, Maiden, 105-185; N. E. Hist, and Gen. Reg., xxvi. 82. 
« SufT. Deeds, L. 8, £F. 344, 420. See infra, p. 287. 



Chap. VI] - APPENDIX 15 281 

and land of "William Barlholmew; N.E. by "Land that belongs 
to the owners of the Iron workes at Linne " and by Lynn com- 
mon; S.E. by land of Joseph Jenkes; also 10 acres of salt marsh 
meadow " neere unto the dwelling house of the s*^ John Bennet & 
Elisha Bennet," bounded S. by a salt water creek, etc. ; also one 
half of " Squires " meadow in Maiden, seven acres. This deed 
was acknowledged January 23, 1675/6.^» March 30, 1702, the 
heirs of John White for £300 conveyed to Jeremiah Belcher this 
farm of 200 acres, citing the earlier deed and repeating bounds 
therein given. April 1, 1702, Samuel and Ebenezer Stocker, at 
the request of Jeremiah Belcher and the heirs of John White, 
accompanied by witnesses, pointed out the bounds of the farm as 
they had been shown to their father by Samuel Bennett. On the 
north the line was " by the brooke there running beginning at 
the I^and of M'". Samuel Jenkes and Ending at the Land of M"^. 
Bartholomew now in the possession of Daniel Hutchins and the 
land of M^' Thomas Brattle." Possession of the house and land 
by twig and turf was delivered by two of the heirs, Edward 
Martyn (by right of his wife Sarah) and Edward White. The 
farm was " lately in the occupation of Thomas Townsend," tenant 
preceding Thomas Cheever on the Parker farm of the Vane 
allotment.*'' May 29, 1708, Joseph Burnap divided the farm be- 
tween Edward, Joseph, and Ebenezer Belcher, sons of Jeremiah 
Belcher.^" Dec. 22, 1708, Jeremiah Belcher of Hog Island and his 
wife Sarah ^^ executed a deed of gift of one third of this farm to 
Joseph Belcher. This third was " to lye on the Northerly side 
of s*^ farm according to such bounds as the aboue named Joseph 
Belcher and his brothers Edward Belcher and Ebenezer Belcher 
haue with mutual consent agreed shall be the parting bounds of 
said farm between them." Jeremiah signed the deed; Sarah, his 
wife, made her mark. The witnesses were Thomas Cheever and 
Nathaniel Oliver. It was acknowledged December 22 before 
Nicholas Paige, J. P. ^^ By deed signed on the same day before 
the same witnesses Edward Belcher of Lynn, yeoman, with his wife 
Mary, for £25 45. conveyed to Joseph Belcher of Hog Island, 24 
acres lying at the upper end of the land given the said Edward 
by his father, Jeremiah Belcher, next unto Boardman's land. 

'" Suff. Deeds, L. 9, f. 288. June 8, 1680, Nathaniel Greenwood of Boston, 
sliipwriglit, with liis wife Mary conveyed to John White of Boston, joiner, 
for £104 his rights in the farm. Ibid., L. 14, f. 140. 

" Ibid., L. 21, ff. 1-3, 50. 

"" Ibid., L. 28, f. 136; L. 35, f. 95. 

" Infra, chap. vii. 

"» SufT. Deeds, L. 24, f. 167. 



282 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

February 13, 1719/20, Joseph Belcher and liis wife Hannah con- 
veyed this 24 acres to Ebenezer Merriam and Theophilus Mer- 
riam.'^^ August 2, 1714, Ebenezer Belcher and his wife Euth 
conveyed to Joseph Belcher of Hog Island for £250 current money 
his third of this farm. The witnesses were John Floyd, Thomas 
Berry, and Thomas Cheever. Ebenezer signed; Kuth made her 
mark.^* August 1, 1720, Joseph Belcher of Hog Island and his 
wife Plannah conveyed to Thomas Cheever of Lynn (son of Eev. 
Thomas Cheever), two thirds of the farm, estimated at 218 acres, 
and two thirds of the saltmarsh ; also marshland in Lynn.^^ The 
farm which lay to the north of this land was owned by Cheever's 
brother-in-law, William Boardman. Cheever had already pur- 
chased 84 acres in Eumney Marsh, but his dwelling-house and 
tan yard were across the boundary in Lynn. Apparently his sons, 
among whom these lands in Chelsea were divided, lived also in 
Lynn. Buildings were mentioned on the 80 acres which his grand- 
son Thomas, son of Thomas, mortgaged October 20, 1762. Aaron 
Boardman reported to the selectmen that Thomas Cheever with 
his wife Mary and five children, Mary, Thomas, John, Sarah, and 
Abiah, and a nurse child, John Berry, removed from Lynn to 
Chelsea early in October, 1768. They were warned by the select- 
men to depart.^** 

August 25, 1674, Samuel Bennett for £6 10s. cash and £6 10s. 
to be paid on the twenty-fifth day of August every year for life, 
" if liueing in New England," conveyed to John Bennett a farm 
of 200 acres, bounded N.E. by John Jjffard; ^^ W. by the Maiden 

" Siiff. Deeds, L. 24, f. 166; L. 39, f. 231. 

" Ihid., L. 28, f. 130. 

^' Ibid., L. 3.5, f. 144. 

^ According to tlie law of that day a man niiglit live during the greater 
portion of his life in a town and pay taxes there, yet if he had been legally 
warned to depart within twelve months of his arrival, he could not acquire 
a legal residence there, and if he became later a public charge, he was 
returned to his earlier home. For a curious instance of the working of 
this law see Chelsea I'.s. Maiden (4 ]\Iass. Rep., 131), where Jacob Breden, 
who was born, and had lived during the greater part of his life, in ]\Ialden, 
was decided to be chargeable upon Lynn because twelve years before his 
birth his father, Joseph, lived six jears in Lynn without being warned out 
of town. For the conveyances from Thomas Cheever to his sons, etc., see 
Suff. Deeds, L. 88, flf. 33, 3-5; L. 94, f. 275; L. 99, f. 229. March 2, 1774, 
Joshua Cheever of Lynn for £93 Os. 8d. conveyed 50 acres, woodland and 
pasture in Boston and Lynn, to Phillips Payson, to whom it was assigned 
in the tax list of 1798. In 1774 the lands of William and Aaron Board- 
man bounded it on the north, and Abner Cheever on the south. L. 125, 
f. 160. 

" Giffard in L. 9, f. 246. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 15 283 

line ; S.E. b}^ Thomas Brattle and William Bartholmew ; jST.W. 
" reaching unto the uttermost extent of Boston Bounds." This 
deed was acknowledged Xovember 13, 1674, and recorded July 13, 
1675. On August 9, 1675, John Bennett for £80 conveyed the 
same to Isaac Waldron of Boston, physician.^® September 26, 
1695, John Usher as administrator of the estate of Isaac Waldron, 
reciting that the deceased had died " indebted unto several persons 
as well in England as in this country farr beyond what his whole 
Estate both real & personal would reach to satisfy," conveyed the 
farm, estimated at 200 acres, to Daniel Smith of Charlestown for 
£46.^'' January 2, 1700/01, Daniel Smith of Charlestown with his 
wife Elizabeth for £50 conveyed to Thomas and Eichard Upham, 
brothers, both of Maiden, weavers, " a small house," and " about 
Sixty acres of land," in the improvement of Thomas Williams. 
The land was bounded W. by the Maiden line ; N. by the Reading 
line; E. by the Lynn line; S. by lands late in the possession of 
William Boardman deceased, and were stated to be the lands " w^^ 
I form'ly purchased of John Usher Esq'", of Boston " and " com- 
monly called D'" Waldron's Farm." *'° Apparently after the boun- 
daries of Lynn, Reading, and Maiden were settled the farm was 
found to contain less than 200 acres. 

April 1, 1678, John Bennett of Boston, mariner, being " now 
shortly to take a voyage and to leave his wife," etc., executed 
for the benefit of his " now wife Aphra Bennett and their two 
Children John Addams and Sarah Bennet" a deed of gift of his 
half of the farm then in the joint possession of John and Elisha 
Bennett " each Brother an halfe part of the houses as aforesd 
(except the great dwelling house wholy the sd. John Bennets)." 
The farm was bounded " South-Eastwardly by the great Creeke 
or River that cometh up from between Lyn and Boston, North- 
Eastwardly by the bounds between Lyn and Boston from the 
Meddow to the Lands of Edward Baker Senior and of William 
Mirriam both of Lynn and then by them and their Lands unto 
a Brooke that cometh before Richard Gorges house and runneth 
down towards Mirriams Land aforesd. and so goeth up by that 
brooke on the North-East side to the Lands of John Wilkinson, 
Southwesiwardly by Maiden Line, onely excepting the Lands of 
Teague Barrow & Benjamin Muzzey Senior and Bryan Bradeen." 

=* Suff. Deeds, L. 9. ff. 225, 24G. 

=» Ibid., L. 18, f. 2G1. The petition of John Usher and Priscilla 
Waldron, administrators, for power to sell is in Mass. Archives, xvi. 361. 

™ Suff. Deeds, L. 20, f. 155. See also L. 19, f. 243, Daniel Smith to 
John Bradstreet, January 21, 1G98. John Bradstreet of ^ledford quit- 
claimed to Smith the farm which he bought from him. L. 20, f. 86. 



284 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Cuap. \T 

John Addams was to receive £50 when twenty years of age, the 
remainder was "to descend to " Sarah Bennett my onely daughter." 
llobert Brimsdon (or Bronsdon) of Boston, merchant, and Lieu- 
tenant Oliver Purchis of Lynn were appointed guardians for the 
children, and were given the care of the estate. This deed was 
acknowledged' by John Bennett January 13, 1681/S, and recorded 
April 10.**^ Sarah daughter of John and Aphra Bennett was born 
June 13, 1677.*5- February 19, 1684/5, Aphra, wife of John Ben- 
nett of Eumney Marish " living in the road to Lynn," was pre- 
sented " for selling strong drinke entertaining mens Servants 
and Children contrary to Law." She acknowledged that within 
twelve months she had sold cider at 2d. per quart, with sugar 3d., 
and was fined £5."^ 

In 1684 Davie and Floyd, attorneys of Elisha Bennett of Lon- 
don, mariner, brought suit against John Bennett of Rumney 
Marsh for a division of the farm according to the deed of March 
19, 1673/4.'^* January 10, 1686/7, John Bennett, " late of New 
England " for £300 conveyed to p]lisha Bennett his half of the 
farm (600 acres more or less). It was described as bounded E. 
by Lynn; W. by Maiden; N. by John White and John Wilkin- 
son; S. "by the Creek in Eumney Marsh." March 28, 1687, 
the witnesses made oath before Edward Randolph of the Council. 
The deed was not recorded until February 13, 1716/17, when 
Elisha Bennett mortgaged the entire farm for £250 bills of credit 
emitted that year.^^ Apparently the deed of gift from John 
Bennett to his wife and children (as above cited) was ignored. 
At the July term of Court in 1691 Elisha Bennett of Boston, 
mariner, brought suit against Jonathan Nutton of Eumney Marsh 
to obtain possession " of a house of the plt^ at Eumney marsh . . . 
being the Westermost part of s*^ house standing in or neer the 
place where m'". Samuel Bennets house stood." Execution was 
issued August 7, 1691.'"'*' At the August Court, 1691, Jonathan 
Nutton of Eumney ]\Iarsh entered complaint against two French- 
men, Fountaigne and John, for entering his house Sunday, August 
9, and offering abuses to himself and family. They owned it in 
court and were sentenced to be whipped with 20 stripes."' 

March 28, 1699, Elisha Bennett oi Boston for £100 conveyed 

" SuflF. Deeds, L. 12, f. 177; see also L. 13, f. 314. 

"^ Boston Records. 

•'^ Suff. Co. Court Records (1680-1092), 217. 

" Ibid., LSfi. The farm was divided. 

"'' Sufi". Deeds, L. 31, ff. 8, 11; see also L. 35, f. 213. 

«» SufT. County Court Ree. (1680-1C92), 399. 

«' Ibid., 402. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 15 285 

to Lydia Paul, widow of John Paul of Lj'nn, 60 acres in Boston 
and Lynn, bounded S.E. by Joseph Merriam at a brook there; 
E. by the brook that joins to John White's land. From this 
brook the line ran by a straight line to a great rock, so to the 
side of the hill, then by the side of the hill bounded by marked 
trees to five rocks at the head of Tego Barrow's land, thence to 
the foot of Bennett's rocks, so to a heap of stones in the parallel 
line, running along by Tego Barrow's land south to the brook of 
Joseph Mirriam.*^^ Lydia Paul and her daughter Sarah sold 24 
acres to Thomas Cheever, son of Eev. Thomas Cheever, October 
17, ITOl.*^** " Her lands are mentioned in 1711 by the perambu- 
lators of the Lynn boundary. In 1726, 1728, and 1730 Cheever 
purchased a1:)0ut twenty-seven and one half acres from the heirs 
of John and Lydia Paul. The heirs were Sarah Paul, James 
Whittemore and his wife Hannah, Henry Ehoades and his wife 
Elizabeth, Samuel Narremore and his wife Eachel, John Browne 
and his wife Mary. A dwelling-house and barn stood on the land 
conveyed by Narremore, which was near the dwelling of Sarah 
Paul, and was bounded north and south by Cheever, and west by 
John and Mary Browne. The land conveyed by Browne was 
" near the now dwelling house of Ebeni" Dispaw," and was bounded 
west and south by Cheever, east by land formerly of Samuel Narre- 
more, and north by said Browne.''* 

October 21, 1702, Elisha Bennett, mariner, conveyed to Isaac 
Wilkinson of Maiden for £40 current money, 30 acres. The 
boundary line began at " a small maple tree in a Spruce Swamp " 
in the Maiden line, and went by said line " to a brook, & then 
northerly down s? Brook, to a Black burch," then S. and E. to a 
black oak, to an oak, " to a Buttonwood tree, near the Old way, & so 
to a Doggwood tree on a Eock," to a heap of stones, to the first 
bound. All the trees were marked I.W.'^^ December 6, 1733, 
Isaac and Mary Wilkinson of Boston for £500 current money con- 
veyed to Thomas Douglas of Maiden about 42 acres described as 
" a parcel of Land having a Dwelling house Outhousing & 
W^ater Mill thereon," bounded W. by the Maiden line, S. by Thomas 
Berry; E. and N. by Thomas Cheever.'^- Douglas mortgaged 
this land and 60 acres in Maiden for £2200 in 1733. April 8. 
1747, he conveyed to Nathaniel Oliver, Jr., a ten-acre woodlot 

«' Suff. Deeds, L. 19, f. 109. 

"" Ibid., L. 29, f. 44; L. 44, ff. 203, 204. 

™ Boston Rec. Com. Rep., viii. 85. 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 21, f. 414. 

« Ibid., L. 48, f. 34. 



286 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

near Long Pond, and one half of a " Sawmill Stream of water 
& dam," a way to the mill, and free use of the yard to bring and 
lay timber and lumber, " said Mill & Yard being in Chelsea 
abovesaid and its stream from said long pond." The boundary 
line of the wood lot began " at the fishing rock on the edge of said 
long pond," and ran on a straight line to land of Thomas Cheever, 
its E. and S. boundary; land of Douglas lay to the north. Forty- 
five acres in Maiden with an old house and barn thereon were con- 
veyed."^ In 1755 Douglas mortgaged the remainder of his 
lands, 25 acres in Maiden and 36 acres in Chelsea, the latter 
bounded W. by Maiden line, N. and E. by heirs of Thomas 
Cheever, S. by Samuel Sewall and William Cooper, to whom Oliver 
had mortgaged the lands he purchased in 1747."* Douglas ex- 
cepted from the mortgage one half of the " Mill House Timber 
Yard and the passage way leading to it." "^ 

November 12, 1702, Captain Elisha Bennett and Dorothy his 
wife conveyed to Eichard Pratt of Rumney Marsh for £100 sixty 
acres, — a part of the farm known " by the name of Bennetts . 
Farm," bounded W. by Wilkinson, separated by a brook, to a spruce 
swamp; thence by Capt. Bennett 100 poles; S. by Bennett; E. 
by Teago Berry's land and Paul's land and Thomas Cheever's 
land; N. by a brook between said land and Belcher's farm, with 
a right of way across Bennett's land to the " Country lload," that 
is, the road to Lynn. June 22, 1703, Eichard Pratt and Mercy 
his wife conveyed the same for £100 to Thomas Cheever of Lynn, 
cordwainer.'^ 

November 26, 1703, Elisha Bennett with his wife Dorothy for 
£30 lawful money conveyed 25 acres to Thomas Berry, it being a 
" part of the ffarme where the s^ Cap* Elisha Behett now lives." 
The land was bounded N. by Thomas Cheever, Jr., E. by said 
Berry, S. by Elisha Bennett, and W. by the Maiden line, " where 
the s^ Land is to be forty poles in breadth," and to continue the 
same breadth across the farm to land of said Berry." According 
to the above conveyance Thomas Berry already owned land in 
Eumney Marsh. September 28, 1698, Thadeus Berrey convej^ed 
to his son Thomas the southern half of his farm and of the house 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 48, f. 35; L. 74, f. 255. 

" Ibid., L. 74, f. 256. 

" Ibid., 80, f. 123. The mortfjage was released in 1757. In 1743 he 
was referred to as Deacon Douglas. L. 88, f. 33. 

'" Ibid., L. 21, fT. 287, 288. Jan. 14, 1714/5, Thomas Cheever of Lynn 
mortgaged the lands purchased from Lydia Paul and from Wilkinson — 
84 acres. L. 29, f. 50. 

" Ibid., L. 21, f. 427. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 15 287 

in which he lived. It was bounded E. on land formerl}^ of William 
Merriam, S. on lands formerly of William Merriam and of Samuel 
Bennett, W. on land formerly of Samuel Bennett. The condition 
of this deed of gift was that Thadeus Berry and his wife should 
enjoy the whole of the house and one half of the barn during the 
life of the longer liver. The son was to cultivate the farm and 
give one half the produce thereof to Thadeus Berry and his wife, 
placing the corn and hay in the barn ready for use.'^ Whence 
Thadeus Berry derived his title is not clear, but it is noticeable 
that in the deed from Bennett to Pratt in 1702, and that from 
Lydia Paul to Cheever in 1701, the land of Teague a Barrow of 
1672 was called the land of Teago Berry. The following names 
on the tax lists may represent this farm: 1681 Teage Upbarron, 
1687 Teageo Barry, 1688 Teago Barry, 1695 Thaddeus Barrow, 
1701 Thomas Bary, 1702 Theodrus Berry. June 5, 1718, adminis- 
tration on the estate of Thadeus Berry late of Eumney Marsh, 
husbandman, was granted to his son John Berry of Wenham. 
Seventy acres of upland and meadow valued at £87 10s. appear in 
the inventory of the estate presented to the couxt June 30, 1718 ; 
but in the appraisement made June 29, 1720, only 23 acres appear, 
but they were valued at £95 155. John Floyd, Thomas Pratt, and 
Hugh Floyd had according to the custom of the day reported to 
the court that the farm was incapable of division among the heirs 
'' without great prejudice to or Spoiling of the whole," and the 
land was assigned to John Berry, eldest son of the deceased, 
reserving the thirds of the widow Hannah Berry for life. The 
heirs to share in the distribution of the £95 were the legal rep- 
resentatives of Elizabeth Townsend deceased, who married Joseph 
Townsend May 22, 1690, and died February 27, 1693/4; Hannah 
Needham, Samuel Berry, Thomas Berry, Daniel Berry; the legal 
representatives of Sarah Stocker, and of Ethilrid Merriam; Ee- 
becca Bassett, Abigail Bassett, Jerusha Merriam, and Mehitabel 
Berry."^ The births of four children of Thaddeus and Hannah 
Berry appear on the Boston records, Elizabeth, born Nov. 2-4, 
1665; Samuel, June 20, 1667; Hannah, Aug. 12, 1668; Thomas, 
Sept. 20, 1670.'^'' During the lifetime of the father, on August 8, 
1716, Elisha Bennett and his wife Dorothy conveyed to Thomas 
Berry of Boston, husbandman, and Ebenezer Merriam of Lynn, 
house carpenter, 54 acres of land " not farr from said Berry's 
Dwelling house." It was bounded S.W. on Braden 17% poles, and 
on Maiden 961/4 poles; S.E. on said Braden and said Bennett 

" Ruff. Deeds, L. 20, f. 446. 

" 8uir. Prob. Rec, L. 21, ff. 7, 98; L. 22, ff. 20-22. See also Essex Co, 
Court Papers, L. 87-93. 



288 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

87 poles; N.E. on said Bennett 10? | poles; X.W. on Elisha 
Bennett 61 poles, and on Braden's land 26 poles. March 31, 
1731/2, Ebenezer Merriam sold to Thomas Berry 27 acres, his 
half of the above laud, in Chelsea called " Clap board Swamp." *" 
July 7, 1720, Elisha and Dorothy Bennett conveyed to Thomas 
Berry for £80 fourteen acres adjoining Berry's land. Bennett 
reserved the right to cross this land for four months in the year, 
^ov., Dec, Jan., and Feb., " to fetch wood & timber from my 
other Land that lyes above it." ^^ 

The will of Thomas Berry of Eumney Marsh, dated Septeml)er 
3, 1736, was probated January 11, 1736/7. The witnesses were 
Jonathan Wayt, Thomas Douglas, and Nathaniel Jenkins; the 
executors were three sons of the testator, Ephraim, Thomas, 
and Samuel Berry. He gave to his wife Elizabeth for life the 
new end of his dwelling-house from top to bottom. Two cows 
were to be kept for her on the farm both winter and summer. 
Each executor was to furnish her yearly four bushels of Indian 
corn (12 bushels in all), one bushel of rye (3), 40 lbs. of good 
pork (120), 40 lbs. of good beef (120) — "" all good & choice" — 
one barrel of cider (3), also 40s. in money (£6), 21/^ cords of 
good firewood "cut short & fit for the fire" (7I/2) ', also '"a con- 
venient supply of Cabages and Turnips & all other Eoots for her 
Use." She was to have liberty to gather fruit in the orchard 
for her use, and also " Green Fruit such as Beans Pease or any 
other fruit that is convenient for sauce on the Land that is mine," 
and she was to have liberty " to keep a Pig or two in my young 
Orchard or Close." Also the executors were " to find a good 
Horse to carry their Mother to Meeting and a Man to ride before 
her so often as she thinks convenient to go to Meeting." Finally 
he gave her for life his stock of cattle and indoor-moveables. The 
latter were to descend at her death to his daughters Elizabeth 
Jenks and Mary Johnson, except his great Bible, which he gave to 
his son Diven Berry. Mary Johnson was a widow; she was to 
have the use of " my New Chamber " and the keep of a cow, if she 
remained a widow after his wife's death. Legacies were left to 
his two daughters and to Diven Berry; the farm was divided 
between Ephraim, Thomas, and Samuel Berry. During the life- 
time of their mother Thomas and Samuel were to share the house 
which their father bought of his brother Ebenezer Merriam, and 
Ephraim was to live in the old end of the homestead; after her 
death Thomas was to own the whole house, in which he lived, and 
Samuel was to possess the new end of the homestead. 

«» SufT. Deeds, L. 30, flf. 254, 255 ; L. 47, f. 7. 
" Ibid., L. 35, f. 10. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 15 289 

From the minute description of the farmlands herein divided, 
it appears that Thomas Berry purchased 16 acres 20 poles from 
Joseph Belchar, five acres of saltmarsh from Hugh Floyd, and 
six acres of swamp from Jonathan Wait.®^ The children of 
Thomas and Elizabeth Berry were recorded at Boston : Elizabeth, 
born March 27, 1701; Divan Jan. 22, 1701/2; Mary Feb. 17, 
1703/4; Ephraim Nov. 9, 1706; Thomas Aug. 14, 1708; Samuel 
Aug. 6, 1711. This record is of interest because of its complete- 
ness. It shows that a resident in this most distant precinct of 
Boston was interested and wished his family record placed in the 
town's book. Also the land transfers and the settlement of his 
estate were more formally correct and more carefully placed on 
record than those of many a resident in the centre of the town. 
The inventory ^^ of his estate follows ; it was presented to the 
court by the executors — Ephraim, Thomas, and Samuel Berry 
April 26, 1737. 

Inventory of estate of Mb Thomas Bebby of Rumney Marsh 

A Bible & other Books We apprized at £2-15- 

AU his Wearing Cloaths Linnen & Woolen at 34 - 6 - 

2 Beds & furniture to the same apprized at 33 

All the Linnen apprized at 17-13- 

PeA\i;er Platters Plates & other Pewter at 7 - 10 - 

A Brass Kittle & other Brass Ware 8 - 10 - 

Knives and Forks Potts Kittles and other Iron Ware ... 10-14- 

A Chest of Draws a Round Table and 2 sma: Tables at . . 3-15- 

a Looking Glass other Glass & Earthen Ware & 18 Chairs . 5 - 8 - 

Barrells & other Lumber at 7-10-6 

68 Acres of Land belonging to the Homestead with all the 

Building 1496 

46 Acres of Pasture Land at 460 

50 Acres of WoodLand £489 . 16 Acres of Salt Marsh, £202 . 691 

Jonathan Wayt, Nathaniel Jenkins, Thomas Douglass ... 2774-1-6 

Seven children of Samuel and Mary Berry, born between 1737 
and 1758, were recorded at Chelsea: Jonathan, born 1737-18th 
day-5th month ; James, 1743-5-7; Sarah, 1745-19-12 ; Samuel, 
1748-16-7; Hannah, 1750-20-2; Mary, 1754-15-10; Thomas, 
1758-27-11. The marriage intention of Samuel Berry and Mary 
Fuller of Latiu was recorded at Boston September 18, 1735. In 
1758 Samuel Berry, with his wife Mary, conveyed to Abijah 
Cheever of Lynn, tanner, 22 acres of pasture and half an acre of 
orchard. It was bounded N. on the successors of Thomas Cheever ; 



VOL. I. — 19 



« Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 33, f. 38. 
«' Ibid., L. 33, f. 137. 



290 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

W. on Joshua Clieever and Samuel Vial ; S.E. on Samuel Berry by 
the fence to the highway that led to said Berry's dwelling-liouse, 
etc. ; E. on said Berry, on Abijah Cheever and on Abner Cheever. 
Samuel Berry signed his name ; his wife made her mark. March 
S, 1765, Samuel Berry with his wife Mary conveyed for £213 6s. 
Sd. to Amos Porter of Topsfield 50 acres in Chelsea and Lynn "with 
the dwelling house and Barn standing on the same," bounded E. by 
Abijah Cheever and by John Farrington; S. by said Farrington 
to Maiden line; W. by the widow Mary Chaddock; N. by Jacob 
Breeden, Capt. Elisha Bennett's heirs and Abijah Cheever.** 
From Amos Porter the land passed to Elizabeth Gray of Boston, 
widow, who conveyed it to Hannah Andrews of Boston, widow, 
February 23, 1780>^ June 21, 1798, Benjamin Hichbom of Dor- 
chester and his wife Hannah conveyed the same to David Williams, 
to whom it was taxed in 1798. In the conveyance from Hichborn 
the bounds of 1765 were repeated unchanged. There was con- 
veyed with the estate the privilege of passing to and from the 
"Country road," that is the road from Winnisimmet to Lynn; 
and there was reserved to the heirs of Thomas Cheever, de- 
ceased, the right to pass over the south part of the premises to 
a woodlot purchased by Cheever from Richard Pratt deceased; 
also a privilege to the heirs of Elisha Bennett of passing during 
three months in the year, December, January, and February, to 
their woodland north of the premises. A ten-acre woodlot in 
Chelsea and 5 acres of saltmarsh in Lynn were conveyed with 
the farm.*® This land lay beyond the limits of what is now Eevere. 
In the direct tax of 1798 the house of David Williams was de- 
scribed as " at the Northerly Part of the town on Lynn Line." 
It covered 896 feet, was of two stories, had 24 windows, and with 
half an acre of land was valued at $412.50. The farm lands and 
outbuildings by some mischance were not listed; the description 
of the Ferry farm at Winnisimmet is also missing from this list. 
Throughout his life Captain Elisha Bennett, son of Samuel 
Bennett, retained a part of his father's farm. He was a prom- 
inent citizen of Boston and Rumney Marsh, representing the 
latter on the Board of Assessors, and holding other offices. His 
will, dated April 9, was probated May 30, 1726. December 18, 
1727, Ellis Bennett of Boston, mariner, representing that Dorothy 
Bennett, the executrix, had died intestate without fully adminis- 
tering on her husband's estate, was appointed administrator,*^ 

" SuflF. Deeds, L. 103, f. 223. 

» Ibid., L. 127. f. 250; L. 156, f. 215. 

•" L. 190, f. 204. 

" Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 24, f . 504 ; L. 26, f . 52. 



Chap. VI] APPENDIX 15 291 

The inventory of " Cap*. Elisha Bennet deced of Rumne}' Marsh " 
was taken by Nathaniel Oliver, Thomas Pratt, and Samuel Tuttle, 
December 26, 1727. '''The Farm & Houses Standing thereon" 
were valued at £1200 ; one-half a brick house on Middle Street 
in Boston at £300. There were also inventoried an Indian man 
and boy £90, " an old calash & cart," two horses, 14 cattle, 13 
small pictures, a " Silk quilt," brass andirons, " cloth chairs," 
books valued at £2 10s.; 169" pewter at 20d — £14 Is. 8d.; 
lOO'i copper and brass at 2/, £10 ; 90 «== Plate at 14/, £63, etc.^* 
Three children inherited the estate, John (born, according to 
the Boston records, April 4, 1690) ; Ellis (born August 9, 1699), 
and Sarah, who married, first, Nathaniel Viall July 12, 1708, 
and (2) John Floyd of Chelsea November 23, 1732. In 1739 
the daughter, with her husband, John Floyd, conveyed her rights 
in her father's estate, that is one-third of all the real estate of 
which he died seized, to " our Son Samuel Viall " of Chelsea, 
tanner. In 1745 the farm was described as still held by the heirs 
of Elisha Bennett undivided.^'' It contained about 200 acres, 
having been reduced, as has been already shown, since 1674 by 
sundry conveyances from Samuel Bennett and his heirs. John 
Bennet, bachelor, of Walthamstow, County of Essex, England, by 
will dated January 12, 1750/51, and probated in England August 
28, 1751, appointed as his heir his nephew John Bennet " who 
went out Third Mate of the Benjamin, Cap* Meard, to the East 
Jndies." He left a legacy of £1000 to his niece Sarah Bennett, 
daughter of his brother. Captain Ellis Bennett, deceased, and 
made her the residuary legatee, if his nephew died. He gave to 
Mrs. Sarah Partridge, with whom he was then living, an annuity 
of £40, etc. He wished to be buried in the " Church, or Chappel 
of Walthamstow," and have " a small Monument . . . put upon 
yf Pillar fronting the South Door of Walthamstow Church." 
He gave mourning rings to several friends.'"' March 28, 1752, 
Sarali Bennett, widow, and Sarah Bennett, spinster, of Boston, 
as executors of the will of Ellis Bennet, conveyed for £333 Gs. 8d. 
to Benjamin Henderson of Boston, boatbuilder, 81% acres in four 
parcels, — 27i/o acres "on the lower side of the Country Road" 
to L3-nn, bounded N.W. on the road and on land of Eobert Wait; 
thence the line ran S. and W. on John Hutchinson ; S. on marsh- 
land ; W. on marsh-land of Thomas Cheever ; " then about Easterly 
as the Creek runs " ; then N.E. on John Bennett to the Country 

^ Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 26, f. 69. 

»» SuflF. Deeds, L. 58, f. 261 ; L. 71, f. 102. 

»" Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 50, f. 317. 



292 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VI 

road. The 48 acres north west of the road were bounded X.E. on 
John Bennett; N.W. on Jonathan Hawkes; and S.W. on Samuel 
Breeden and Robert AVait. A woodlot of GVl acres was bounded 
by Samuel Breeden, Joshua Cheever, Samuel Berry, and John 
Bennett. There was a reference to a plan made according to an 
award for the division of the premises by Samuel Watts, William 
Collins, and John Steel. John Bennett of London sold to Hen- 
derson in 1755."^ January 13, 1786, Benjamin Henderson of 
Boston, yeoman, for £800 conveyed to John Slade of Chelsea, 
yeoman, a farm of 137 acres, 51 acres lay S.W. of the Country 
road. The bounds were similar to those in the deed from Sarah 
Bennett, except that the lands of Samuel Yial deceased lay to the 
N.E. and E. instead of land of John Bennett. The land of John 
Hutchinson was then ''possessed" by Thomas Wait; 86 acres 
lay N.W. of the road, with similar bounds, lands of Samuel 
Viall to the N.E. and N. All the abutters of 1752 are described 
as deceased."- On the same day Slade conveyed to Henderson a 
farm in Needham.''^ His wife's name was Hannah. Henderson 
sold his woodland, 13 acres, in 1793 to Nehemiah Oakes, Winslow 
Sargeant, and George Shute."* In 1773 Samuel Viall with 
his wife Mary mortgaged to Henderson (later released) 16 acres 
27 rods S.E. of the Country road, 23 acres N.W. of the road, and 
8 acres of woodland; buildings were mentioned. He was de- 
scribed as of Lynn, tanner. The I^ynn line bounded this land to 
the N.E., and he appears to have owned land across the boundary."^ 
When the direct tax of 1798 was assessed, Hannah Slade, widow 
of John Slade, was owner and occupant of the southwestern por- 
tion of Elisha Bennett's farm. The house covered 1368 feet, 
was of two stories, had 18 windows, and was " Verry Old." With 
a shed and chaise house (319 sq. ft., of one story), a corn barn 
(110 sq. ft., of one story), and a half acre of land, it was valued 
at $495; 137 acres of land with a barn 40 X 30 were appraised 
at $2,235. This house, according to the site marked on a plan 
of the Slade "" farm, stood on Park Ave., almost due east from 
the Franklin Park Railway Station. The farm of which Elisha 
Bennett died seized included apparently the land within the 
present limits of Eevere north of the creek or Pines River, except 
the lands on Maiden line already described. The line between 
the Slade and Vial farms, an irregular northwest line, passed 
near the point where the railroad crosses Salem Street.] 

»' Suff. Deeds, L. 81, f. 27; L. 87, f. 03. 
»' Ibid., L. 155, f. 71. "' Ibid., L. 155, f. 75. 

°* Ibid., L. 174, f. 212. "= Ibid., L. 122, f. 78. 

»* Ibid., L. 435, f.l 98. 



Chap. VI] 



APPENDIX 16 



293 



APPENDIX 16 

[Land Owned by Malden People in Chelsea [1798]. (^) 



Benja Blaney .... 
John G rover .... 
Jonas Green .... 
Barnard Green . . . 

Saml Green 

Thomas Hills .... 
Ezra Howard .... 
Nailer Hatch .... 
James Howards Heirs 
Amos Shutes Heirs . 
Silas Sergants Heirs . 
Ezra Sergant .... 
David Sergant . . . 
Amos Upliam 



6 

31/0 

31/2 
16 

31/0 

6 
10 
29 
10 

2 

41/0 

8 

6 

7 



Wra Upham 101/ 

Thomas Waits Heirs . . 
Daniel Waters .... 
Joseph Sergant .... 



,4 

3% 
6 
19 

157 
1201/4 

277 1^ 



Joseph Jenkins Heirs 
James Kettles Heirs 
Jabez Lyndes . . . 
Jona Lyndes Heirs . 
Joseph Lynde . . . 
Joseph Lynde Jnr . 
Nathan Lynde . . . 
John Nickels . . . 
Nehemiah Oakes . . 
John Pratt .... 
Jacob Parker .... 
Ebenr Pain .... 
Thomas Sergant . . 
Phinehas Sprague . 
Isaac Smiths Heirs . 
Cotton Sprague . . 
Winslow Sergant . 

Wra Wait 

Euth Wait 



3% 

41/2 

31/2 

6 

5 

6 1/2 

6 

31/2 

2 

6 1/2 

7 

71/2 

3 

31/2 
12 

1-/2 
24 

8 1/2 

IV2 

1201/4 



The whole Tax in the town of Chelsey for 1797 amounts to . $1014-00 

The Poles & personal Estates payes of the above suni .... 321 . 37 

Leaves for the Real Estate 81292-63 

Maiden pays for the above sum $60 . 64 

Ljnn pays for Do 55 . 78 

Reading & Stoneham pays Do 11-16 

$127 . 58 

^ The farmers of Maiden from an early period held upland and salt- 
marsh in Chelsea. With the exception of Benj. Blaney, Barnard Green, 
Ezra Howard, Joseph and Winslow Sergant, the land listed here was salt- 
marsh. Many farmers in Chelsea, even in the seventeenth contury, held 
wood-lots in Maiden. The boundary between the towns passed through the 
Pratt, Collins, Wait, and Samuel Sergant farms. According to another 
list the following " Chelsea People " o^^^led land in Maiden estimated at 
342% acres: William Harris, Jonathan Fuller, James Stowers, Moses 
Collins, Daniel Pratt, Daniel Pratt, Jr., Samuel Pratt, Andrew Blaney, 
Caleb Pratt, Elizabeth Belcher, Samuel Floyd, James Tewkesbury, Joseph 
Green, Joshua Cheever, James Floyd, Jr., Increase Sumner (with William 
Greenough and David Hyslop), William Boardman, Samuel Sergant, and 
John Tufts. These papers were prepared by Chelsea for use in the dispute 
over Chelsea Beach {supra, p. 129). They are in Mass. Archives, docu- 
ments filed with chap. 73 Acts of 1798. ] 



294 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 



CHAPTER VII 

GOVERNOR BELLINGIIAm's ESTATES AT WINNISIMMET 

WHEN John Endicott came to Salem September 6, 
1028, he found there as elsewhere on the coast Eng- 
lishmen in possession of lands which they claimed hy occupa- 
tion. These were " the old planters " ; and though their claim 
lacked legality, Endicott and his Council, instructed by the 
Company April 17, 1629, permitted them to " enjoy not only 
those lands which formerly they have manured, but such a 
further proportion as by the advice and judgment of yourself, 
and the rest of the Council, shall be thought fit for them, or 
any of them," ^ 

Since 1625 Samuel Maverick had been at AYinnisimmet, 
where he built his Palisade House. In the absence of known 
grant we may assume that his equitable claim was recognized 
by the Company, as Richard Bellingham rested his title to 
"Winnisimmet on the following deed: 

" Samuell Maverick and Amias his wife John Blackleach 
[ ] his wife have granted and sowld vnto llichard Beling- 

ham and his heires, A messuage called winesemet w*^^ the Apur- 
tainances also his interest in the ferrve this was by deed of Sale 
dated 27 of ffebr 1634." ^ 

November 30, 1640, Boston recognized his title as " The 
lands of M^ Rich. Bellingham's, lieing at Winnisimett, be- 
longing to the towne of Boston, are bounded with the land of 
William Steedsonne, of Charles toAvne, and with Charles towme 

' Younj;, Chronicles of Mass., 145. For Richard Bellinpham's estates 
in Boston, Vide Memorial Hist, of Boston, i. 360, note 2; ShurtlefT, Bos- 
ton, 214. 

* 1635, New Style. Suff. Deeds, L. 1, f. 15. Maverick had leased the 
ferry to William Stitson for life. Ibid., L. 12, f. 347. [For William 
Stitson and the ferry see infra, chap, xxii.] 



Chap. VII] GOVERNOR BELLINGHAM'S ESTATES 295 

lands, limitted by fences and marsh towards the norewest, 
with a winter fresh water runnell and ponder home Creeke, 
parting betweene the land of M? Bellinghame and MJ Nicholas 
Parker, of Boston, towards the north East, with the salt water 
on all other parts towards the east, and south and west; all 
the lands within the said Limitts and bounds belong to the 
said M"". Richard Bellingham." ^ 

This included all the lands within the present city of Chel- 
sea except the United States Hospital estate, — not conveyed 
by the Maverick-Blackleach deed, — and some house lots on 
the westerly side of Broadway southerly of Beacon Street, — 
formerly belonging to that estate, but sold by Aaron Dexter 
before the government purchase.^ At some time not now 
kno"wn, but probably not later than 1650, Governor Belling- 
ham divided this territory into four farms, early kno^vn by 
the names of their tenants as the Smith farm, the Rice farm, 
the Townsend farm, and the Senter (Center) farm; and in 
later days as the Williams, Shurtleif, Cary, and Carter farms. 
The plan [which faces the first page of this chapter] ^ shows 
their modern and less accurately their original boundaries. 
Save the Rice or Shurtleff farm, they became the property of 
the Watts family about 1700, and with the exception of the 
Cary farm after 1728 so remained for nearly a half-century. 
Under each I give such facts as I have noticed. 

The Lieutenant Smith, Ferry, or Williams Farm 

The second landing place of the ferry, granted to Samuel 
Maverick in 1634, was on this farm, and so it was called the 
Ferry farm. On it Governor Bellingham's country house, 
and about a century later Judge Watts' mansion were built.® 

' Town Records, in loco. 

* [The triansfle of land between the Everett and Revere boundarieg, and 
the creek which flows from the car-house on Washington Avenue to Mill 
River, was not a part of the Bellingham farm. Supra, chap, vi.] 

" [On this plan the line between the marsh and the upland is represented 

thus, ; the boundary line separating the farms thus, . 

A list of the plans upon which this map was based will be found infra, 
Appendix 12.] 

" Pelham's Map of Boston, 1775. Bellingham purchased Winnisimmet 
of Maverick, February 27, 1G34/5; but not that part on which his Pali- 



296 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

The earliest "^ tenant I learn of was Lieutenant John Smith, 
who died September 21, 1706, aged eighty-five. His wife 
Mary, probably a daughter of James Bill of Pullen Point, 
died February 6, 1693/4, aged about forty-eight.* Their 
gravestones were lately seen in the Revere churchyard, and 
may be read in the appendix. The rental of the farm about 
1670 was estimated at £50; and in 1687 it was taxed as thirty 
acres of arable land and meadow, and seventy of pasture.^ 

From 1694 to 1711 this farm and the ferry were leased to 
John Brentnall; ^'^ but Edward Watts and his wife Rebecca 
(heiress of her sister Elizabeth, second wife of Samuel Belling- 
ham, sole heir to the Bellingham estates), coming from England 
in 1710, not long after took possession of and carried on as they 
had been, the Ferry farm, the ferry, and the inn.^^ Their 
epitaphs in the Revere churchyard say that Edward Watts 

sade House stood. There must have been a house on the Ferry farm; 
for a week later, wlien Stitson sold his life interest in the ferry to 
Bellingham, he stipulated that his annuity should be paid " at the Farme 
house of the sH. Richard in WinnisiiTiett." This may have been that dis- 
placed by Judge Watts' mansion. [The conveyance from Stitson to Bell- 
ingham was dated August 28, 1035, six months after Maverick's deed. 
Infra, chap. xxii. Not improbably the farm-house of Governor Bellingham 
was built by Maverick, as during the first years of the colony Winnisim- 
met was a flourishing settlement. Supra, chap. ii. appendix; chap. iii. 
Appendix 2.] 

' John Pemerton of Winnisimmet, planter, mortgages lands in Maiden, 
to Richard Bellingham, conditioned on the payment of rents and arrear- 
ages due on the farm at Winnisimmet, and on his leaving the two ferry 
boats as good as he found them, that is, worth £13, also the houses and 
fences on the place in equally good repair, all to be delivered to Belling- 
ham September 1, 1G62. April 12, 1662. Suff. Deeds, L. 4, f. 12. [Novem- 
ber 5, 1661, " Jno Pemberton & Jno Moulton " were permitted by the 
selectmen of Boston to keep an inn at Winnisimmet. The General Court 
at the session beginning in this same month of November fined " John 
Moulton, ferry man at Winissemet " for neglect. Presumably he was the 
son of Thomas Moulton of Charlestown and Maiden, and in 1661 was about 
thirty years of age. (Corey, Maiden, 84, note, 602; Wyman.) John 
Pemberton was the son of James Pemberton who died February 5, 1661/2, 
and left to his son the lands mortgaged in April. John Pemberton was 
baptized April 24, 1642. For his later life see Corey, Maiden. 84, note, 
122, 317, 326, 377. See infra, chap. xxiv. for earlier tenants on the farm.] 

» [See infra, p. 319.] 

» [See infra, p. 321.] 

" John Brentnall of Chelsea, who died in 1731, had a son John, tanner 
and schoolmaster in 1721, [who] married Deborah Mellins, August, 1712, 
and who had a brother James. [Supra, p. 46.] 

" [Infra, p. 352; also chaps, xii. to xvi. xxiv.] 



Chap. VII] GOVERNOR BELLINGHAM'S ESTATES 297 

died June 5, 1714, aged forty-seven; and his widow March 25, 
1715, aged forty-seven.^^ Their son Edward, then about 
twenty-one, carried on the farm, the ferry, the inn, and a store 
until his death, September 17, 1727, aged thirty-four.^^ On 
the division of the estates June 25, 1728, until then held in 
common,^ ^ the Ferry farm with the inn, the store, and the 
lease of the ferry were set off to Samuel Watts, the second 
son. 

Samuel Watts died March 9, 1770,^^ and in 1773 John 
Tudor, a well-to-do Boston hatter, proposed to purchase the 
mansion house and part of the estate. His letters ^^ contain 
the interesting statement, that this house was built about forty 
years before, which would be in 1733. If so, it was not the 
original " Great House " on Governor Bellingham's Ferry 
farm, but was erected by Samuel Watts about five years after 
he became sole owner of the estate. Besides this house, near 
the ferry landing was a very old tavern, perhaps the original, 
or one on the site of that kept by Lieutenant John Smith in 
1644.1' 

April 22, 1793, the heirs of Samuel Watts, son of Hon. 
Samuel Watts, sold a large j)art of the Ferry farm with the 

^2 [Her will is infra, p. 329.] 

" [Boston Vital Records. He was buried September 20, 1727, at Christ 
Church, of which he was one of the founders and a vestryman.] 

" [In November, 1715, Edward Watts mortgaged the farm occupied by- 
Abraham Townsend to secure an annuity of £50 to Elizabeth Bellingham. 
(SuflT. Deeds, L. 31, fi'. 13, 14; Chamberlain MSS., i. 147 et seq.) She 
died in 1743. In April, 1716, Edward and Samuel Watts appear in 
partnership, as mention is made of " Joseph Lewis, Servant to Edward and 
Samuel Watts of Winisiiiiet." (Records of Court of General Sessions of 
the Peace, 114.) Edward Watts, March 22, 171G/7, about a year after 
liis own marriage and the marriage of his younger brother Samuel, mort- 
gaged the Ferry farm, " consisting of a Dwelling house Outhouses Barns 
Orchard garden plowland pasture and Salt Marsh containing in the whole 
Two hundred and twenty seven Acres " to Paul Dudley to secure the pay- 
ment of £200. (SuflF. Deeds, L. 31, f. 94; increased the following year, 
released 1722.)] 

" [March 5 was the date according to the town records of Chelsea and 
contemporary newspaper notices. March 9 in the church records was 
presumably the day of his burial.] 

1" \Infra, p. 334*.] 

" [Francis Smith was tenant in 1644. Infra, chap. xxiv. The site 
of the tavern and of the Watts mansion are marked on the plan by S. P. 
Fuller, January, 1830, in Suff. Deeds. L. 351, f. 153; also supra, on the 
plan of Chelsea showing the location of the Bellingham farms.] 



298 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

ferry rights for £1500 to Henry Howell Williams, many 
years lessee of Noddle's Island.^ ^ 

The Williams estate of one hundred twenty-nine acres was 
bounded as follows: " Northwardly by a Creek in said Chel- 
sea, running up from the Sea, commonly knowTi by the name 
of The Creek's, Westwardly by land of the United States, 
formerly of Dr. Aaron Dexter, adjoining or nearly adjoining 
the Northern extremity of Chelsea Bridge, over the mouth 
of My stick River, Southwardly upon the mouth of said River 
and Boston Harbour, or the Sea, near where said River empties 
itself, Eastwardly and Southeastwardly in part by other land 
of the United States, whereupon the Hospital now stands, 
and in part by a Town or County Road, and Northeastwardly 
by the Carter farm so called, containing one hundred and 
twenty-nine acres or more of upland and salt marsh." With 
the ferry, it was sold March 8, 1831, for $22,500, to Francis 
B. Fay and others, trustees,^ ^ who transferred the same 
to the Winnisimmet Company, October 1, 1833.^° Same 
to same. Wharf and flats in Boston, for $5,000, June 1, 1833.^^ 
Chelsea to same, Ferry Landing, for $250, September 20, 

" Hon. Samuel Watts had become sole owner of the Ferry farm and 
the Senior, or modern Carter farm; and on liis death in 1770 these estates 
were divided among his heirs, so that his son Samuel took only a part of 
the original Ferry farm. About sixty years later, however, by various 
purchases they were restored to nearly their original dimensions in the 
ownership of the Winnisimmet Company and Joshua Carter. Williams' 
grantors were Samuel, Isaac, Belcher, and Richard Watts, Ezra and 
Rachel Brintnall, all of Chelsea, Benjamin Comey of Boston, and Ezra 
Uphara of IMalden. The premises comprised 104 acres, more or less, with 
three dwelling houses, two thirds of a barn, one large stable, a corn barn, 
the land in several parcels. (SufT. Deeds, L. 175, f. 245.) [The wives wlio 
released tiieir dower were: Nancy (wife of Samuel) ; Rachel Watts, Mary 
Watts, Elizabeth Watts, Elizabeth Brintnall, Hannah Comey [?], Sally 
Upham. See infra, pp. 3.38, 3G1. Judge Chamberlain's notes on Henry 
Howell Williams are placed on pp. 3G3, 3G4.] 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 351, If. 150-153. [There was reserved to Mrs. Jeffrey 
Williams the life use, rent free, of the tenement in which she was 
then living and a half acre about it. Thomas Williams was the grantor 
in this and the deed following. Francis B. Fay et al. were " Trustees for 
the persons associated under the name of the Winnisimmet Lands and 
Ferry Company," to which company they transferred the title after its 
incorporation. The conveyances in 1834 and 1836, noted in the text, ran 
to the Winnisimmet Company.] 

^ Ibid., L. 374, f. 37. 

" Ibid., L. 309, f. 157. [This wharf and flats adjoined the landing 
place of the Winnisimmet Ferry in Boston.] 



Chap. VII] GOVERNOR BELLINGHAM'S ESTATES 299 

1834.^^ City of Boston to same, for $5,000, land near the 
ferrj, November 15, 1836.2^ 

The facts in the following letter of the late Benjamin P. 
Shillaber, derived from a trustworthy source, Mr. Charles 
Stearns, may be regarded as essentially historical. 

The Old Chelsea Taverns 

There are few living who are able to describe to us from their 
own recollection the Chelsea of sixty years ago, but Mr. Charles 
Stearns, whose memory is as full of old facts as a pin-cushion is 
of missing needles, is one of the few, and retains a very vivid 
remembrance of the scene, where, as a boy in the employment of 
Payson & Fenno (John Penno, Senior), Avho kept the old tavern 
near the first ferry landing, he took an active part in dispensing 
the hospitalities of the venerable hostelrie, the date of whose con- 
struction must have extended back to nearly the commencement 
of the settlement, as it was very old and dilapidated at the time 
of which we have record. It fronted towards the river, and down 
to 1804, when the Salem turnpike and Chelsea bridge were com- 

=^ Suff. Deeds, L. 384, f. 192. [In the deed cited this was the " Town 
Landing," a strip of beach or flats west of the Williams farm between the 
turnpike and the sea. November 28, 1831, the Selectmen of Chelsea, 
authorized thereto by a vote of the town January 18, 1831, leased this for 
ten years for tlie nominal sum of $1.00 a year to Thomas Williams, who 
on the same day assigned the lease to Francis B. Fay et al., Trustees. 
(Suff. Deeds, L. 358, fF. 255, 271.) Obviously the sole object of the lease 
was to secure a monopoly of the ferry rights by the assurance that no 
one could establish a rival ferry. The Winnisimmet Company was de- 
barred from landing passengers by steam or other boats thereon. The 
town might build wharves for its own use. The heirs of Jonathan Green 
contested the town's ownership. A committee of the town, appointed to 
consider this matter, reported, August 4, 1834, that they had negotiated 
with the Winnisimmet Company a sale of the disputed flats for $250, the 
company to pay all lawsuits and release the town of Chelsea from the above 
lease to Williams. The conveyance noted in the text was drawn in pur- 
suance of this agreement. The Company lost the lawsuits, but eventually 
purchased a part of the flats. Supra, pp. 58, 59. 1 

'" Ibid., L. 417, f. 217. Interesting facts relating to the Winnisimmet 
Ferry and the village, now the city, of Chelsea, collected by Hon. Frank 
B. Fay, may be found in the Chelsea Directory, 1854. [November 16, 
1831, the town of Boston leased the ferry landing, the land and dock at 
the intersection of Lynn (Commercial) and Hanover streets, and the 
Winnisimmet Ferry rights on Boston side for thirty years for $5 a year, 
with the privilege of purchasing the same for $5,000 within five years. 
(L. 358, f. 274.) The conveyance cited in the text was drawn in pursu- 
ance of this agreement.] 



300 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

pleted, the county road, which wriggled through Chelsea like a 
snake, ran before its door to the ferry just beyond. Until this 
time the old tavern held an almost undivided possession of the 
territory. There were no houses on the west until the turnpike 
was built [sic], when a few sprung up on its line towards the 
bridge, the pioneers of the present populous precinct, some of 
which originals are still standing. 

The turnpike, running in the rear of the old tavern, seemed 
to thrust it aside ignominiously, and the venerable structure 
stood very nearly upon the site of the two houses back from Broad- 
way, placed there by the late George W. Gerrish, where it had 
the appearance of having in a fit of disgust turned its back 
upon the innovation of the new turnpike. It was a comfortable 
old wayside inn, two stories high on the front, and one story 
in the rear, towards the turnpike, with a long roof sloping up 
to the ridgepole. The front was perforated with many win- 
dows, which, opening upon the south, admitted of an unob- 
structed view of the river and upper harbor with Dorchester 
Heights as a background. A porch and several stone steps at the 
front door gave quite an imposing aspect to the entrance, while 
over the way, near by, was a small stable, the well of which, and 
which supplied the house, is now in existence in the rear of houses 
on Medford Street, yielding to-day the same sweet water that the 
old frequenters of the tavern took in their punch. Built merely 
for the accommodation of ferry passengers the house was large 
enough for its purpose; but when passengers were delayed, com- 
fortable rooms and beds and hospitable cheer made a night's stay 
at the old tavern very endurable, it may be safe to say. 

Down to the time of the formation of the Chelsea Land Com- 
pany and their purchase of Winnisimmet the old tavern was a 
famous place of resort by Bostonians, who came over in the sail 
ferry boats and by flotillas of private conveyance to enjoy a 
game of ninepins and a taste of Fenno's punch, a historical 
beverage which won a wide reputation, or to indulge in shoot- 
ing, great facilities for which were offered by the swamps which 
abounded within the precinct, which harbored plenty of birds, 
or along the shore of the river and creek. Hundreds met there 
at a time, during the hot weather, and, a punch bowl being 
altogether inadequate to the demand, a washtub was made to 
serve the purpose of a dispensary of the delectable compound. 
There were seven bowling-alleys belonging to the tavern, of a 
very primitive character, which admitted a free circulation of 
air througli their open sides, with barely sufficient covering to 
protect the players from the sun or sudden rain that might arise. 



Chap. VII] GOVERNOR BELLINGHAM'S ESTATES 301 

the sct-iip bo3'S having no shield whatever in rain or shine. But 
the sport was hilarious, and probably all the more so because 
of the difficulty occasionally encountered. The " rowdy " was not 
then an element of society. He was not even known to the lan- 
guage, and, therefore, however great the crowd, there was never 
any disorder, no broken heads, nO abusive language. These were 
left for a more refined civilization. The punch was formed of 
honest stuff, with none of the fiery qualities which make men mad ; 
the partakers knew when they had enough and were satisfied. 
There was good substantial fare at the hotel for those who desired, 
the table supplied from Payson and Fenno's own shambles on the 
hill near by, they being dealers in the Cornhill and Faneuil Hall 
markets, who killed their own beef. Their slaughterhouse stood 
on the spot in Chestnut Street, then a barren hill, now occupied 
by houses erected a few years since by Eev. Dr. Mason, and the 
M^orkmen who digged the cellars were greatly puzzled by the num- 
ber of bones that they found imbedded there. The credit of many 
of the aquatic sports upon the Chelsea waters belongs to the history 
of the old tavern ; but upon the assumption of the Land Company, 
and the transformation of the Watts-Williams homestead into a 
watering place, the honors were divided, the old tavern falling 
into desuetude and losing its prestige in the novelty of the new 
place, its decay dating from this period. It had at the last the 
reputation of being haunted, perhaps by some of its old habitiies 
who were attracted thither by a memory of the punch they enjoyed 
there. Pertinent to this I have heard a grave story of a tremen- 
dous crash heard at one time by its inmates, as if a load of coals 
were suddenly dumped upon the cellar floor, for which no cause 
could be assigned, everything being in quiet repose when investi- 
gation was made. 

After the purchase of the ferry franchise by the Land Com- 
pany, in 1831, before consummating that of the farms compos- 
ing the territory, the trustees of the company gave permission 
to the proprietors of the small steamers " Tom Thumb " and 
" Byron " to land at the ferry slip in Chelsea. This was regarded 
as an outrage by the sturdy Fenno, who protested against it, and 
ordered his men to cut their cables if they presumed to make fast 
to the posts so long consecrate to legitimate ferry usage. But it 
was like resisting fate and so it was suffered. This ferry slip con- 
sisted of two plank projections, some two hundred feet long, 
which ran down into the water, to accommodate any depth of tide 
in landing, with space enough between to suit the width of the 
boats. At low tide a green and slimy surface presented itself, 
over which the passengers were compelled to walk in order to 



302 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

reach terra firma, and it was a matter for am-usement to those 
who are not disposed to feel very badly over others' painless mis- 
fortunes to see the new comers, male or female, in their white and 
faultless summer garb, sit down suddenly upon the slimy ooze, 
printing a map in green upon their snowy apparel behind. There 
were no bruises, however, which the punch would not relieve, and 
the accidents were allowed to mingle in as some of the minor 
features of a good time. 

The Ferry and Land Company entered upon the possession of 
Winnisimmet in 1831-2, and the Williams house superseded the 
little old tavern as a public resort. It was a fine old manor house, 
built by the Watts family, descendants of the widow Watts, who 
procured from Samuel Bellingham, son of the governor, the title 
to two hundred and twenty acres of land in Winnisimmet as a 
pledge of fidelity when he was about going to England, which 
pledge he violated by never returning, and the widow came in pos- 
session [sic]. It was purchased by Henry H. Williams of Samuel 
Watts in 1771 [sic] ; and his son, Thomas Williams, sold it to the 
company in 1831. It was two stories high, very spacious, with a 
wide balcony extending the entire length of the lower stor}% and 
sat near the summit of the gentle hill commanding a fine view 
of the river and creek, on either side, and in front, with Noddle's 
Island, Boston, and Charlestown in the near distance. Before it 
a green lawn descended to the smooth and hard shore, which was 
fringed with poplars, and no wharf or building marred the per- 
fection of the scene. On the east side an unbroken stretch of 
cultivated land extended to meet the Shurtleff farm, the hospital 
land, now Hawthorn Street, forming the bound betwixt the two 
farms in that direction. In the rear, a few steps higher than the 
house foundation, was a spacious garden abounding with trees and 
flowers, and the well which, hidden by buildings on Winnisimmet 
Street, still supplies water of the coolest and purest description. 
Transformed into a public resort, it soon lost its homelike charac- 
ter, the sounds of revelry were heard in its most sacred places, and 
the clinking of glasses made unhealthful music. The garden soon 
lost its attractiveness, and a circular railroad for children, the 
cars drawn by flying horses, the motive supplied by a crank, took 
the place of blooming beds and well-trimmed borders. This rail- 
way was about thirty feet in diameter, and was situated near the 
present Williams Street. It may be claimed for it that, next 
perhaps to the Quincy granite tramway, it was the first railway in 
the country. From this garden Lauriat made his first balloon 
ascension about 1833. 

The house was continued, as a hotel, for several years by the 



Chap. VII] GOVERNOR BELLINGHAM'S ESTATES 303 

Compan}^, the several landlords being Payson & Fenno, Bride 
& Nichols, Philbric & Lord, and Taft & Bowditch. It was the* 
father of the present Taft, of Point Shirley, named in this 
firm, although the distinguished purveyor was there, and ac- 
quired there, doubtless, much of the ability which has rendered 
him so popular since. Many were the attractions invited over to 
give the new house success: Eowing matches, balloon ascensions, 
musical and dramatic exhibitions, acrobatic and tight-rope per- 
formances in endless variety; and one who had invented a boot 
in which to walk the water tried it on the river in front of the 
house and found himself walking with his boots on top to his 
great peril. Here the itinerant juggler spread his carpet, and in 
spangled finery, rather faded, performed feats that drew pennies 
from admiring spectators; here improvised dances provoked the 
" light fantastic " ; here black joke and quoits excited emulation, 
and here more sinful games defied the cognizance of law; and 
there beneath the shaded piazza in front the quiet visitor with 
his cigar and moderate sangaree enjoyed the scene spread before 
him to the top of his bent. These were halcyon times, to be dis- 
turbed by the rude touch of innovation, and very soon it was felt, 
for speculation makes no allowance for sentiment. The steam- 
boats had now begun to run regularly, bringing over numerous 
passengers, but they came more for the sail than anything else, 
and the house languished. The survey of Chelsea having been 
made prior to 1833, the easterly side of the hill was cut away to 
form Winnisimmet Street, leading to the proposed new location 
for the ferry, and the ferry was accordingly removed there in that 
3'ear. The house made a show of existence some little time after 
this change, but it was never a success, and in 1850 the house, hill, 
and every vestige of former condition with the old tavern had dis- 
appeared before the levelling hand of improvement, and few who 
walk our crowded streets can tell the spots which they occupied. 

B. P. Shillaber. 
November, 1881. 

The Eice,^'^ Eustis, or Sliurileff Farm 

This farm of two hundred acres, which passed out of the 
Bellingham family within a few years after the governor's 
death, was sold by Richard Wharton of Boston to Robert 

" "Reseiued of Nicolas Rice for the years 1667 1668 1669 1670 for his 
Rent each yeare ten pounds for halfe the farm I say reseiued 26 . 11 : 1G70 
by mce Ri. Bellingham." (Mass. Archives, c. 128.) Wlio had the other 
half does not appear. [See infra, pp. 3G.5-368.] 



oO-t HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

Thompson of London, March 15, 1G85/6, for £300 current 
money of Xew England.^^ Its yearly value about 1700 was 
estimated at £20; and in 1687 Eustis, the tenant, was taxed 
for thirty acres of arable land and meadow and seventy acres 
of pasture.^*^ The history of this estate, as one of the four 
great farms at AYinnisimmet, devised by Governor Bcllingham 
for pious uses, is unique, since it was that on which the long 
contest of one hundred and fifteen years over the governor's 
will was decided in 1787, as will be duly related. 

On the slope bounded by Shurtleff, Shawmut, and Marginal 
streets, some years since, stood an old house supposed to have 
been the " Great Farm House," the rent of which, with the 
farm, was given by the governor's will to Penelope Bclling- 
ham, his widow. This house, though not destroyed, has been 
removed from its original site, and is no longer recognizable.^'^ 

March 10, 1803, Thomas Corbett of Darnhall, County of 
Chester, England, and Elizabeth, his wife, devisee of Robert 
Thompson, sold this farm to Thomas Dawes, trustee, for 
$5000,28 and he, to Benjamin Shurtleff, for $10,000, August 2, 
1813.-^ July 1, 1825, the United States purchased five acres 
of Shurtleff for $2000,^^ and erected the old Marine Hospital 



*» Suff. Deeds, L. 15, f. 6. 

^ [Infra, pp. 321, 322. In 1685 Wharton conveyed 201^/2 acres. By- 
actual survej', August 17, 1829, there were 214 acres 1 quarter 7 rods, — 
144 acres of upland and 70 acres of marsh, — and five acres had been sold 
to the United States in 1825. For the plat, see Suff. Deeds, L. 393, f. ISC] 

^ [The site is marked on the map of Chelsea showing the location of 
the Bellingham farms, supra, p. 294. For INfrs. Bellingham, see chap, x.] 

=« Suff. Deeds, L. 205, f. 109. [Elizabeth Thompson Corbett was the 
niece of Robert Thompson of Elsliam, liincolnshire, England, who recovered 
possession of the farm in 1787 as related in chap, xviii. He appears to 
have been a great-grandson of Robert Thompson, who bought the farm 
of Richard Wharton. Thomas Dawes made this purchase in his own right. 
The grantor to Benjamin Shurtleti, in the next conveyance cited in the 
text, was the son, also named Thomas, as trustee for his twelve children, 
legatees of their grandfather, Thomas Dawes, Sr., the grantee in the deed 
from Corbett.] 

■" Ibid., L. 242, f. 205. 

«'' Ibid., L. 301, f. 145. Same to Same, $46.25, ISVa rods, September 9, 
1830. L. 351, f. 76. The Hospital Lot on Shearer's Plan is ten acres 
thirty-one rods; where did the United States get the other five? [July 6, 
1825, Thomas Williams, owner of the Ferry farm, sold the United States, 
also for $2000, five acres, the western half of this Hospital Lot. (L. 302, 
f. 101.) /n/m, p. 302.] 



CnAP. VII] GOVERNOR BELLINGHAM'S ESTATES 305 

on it in 1827.^^ Benjamin Sliurtleff sold the remainder 
of this farm to the Winnisimmet Company July 31, 1835, 
for $15,000.^2 

The Townsend or Cary Farm 

The boundaries of the ToAvnsend farm were those of the 
modern Cary, comprising about 365 acres. Who occupied it 
between 1635 and 1663 is not now known ; but from 1663 
Samuel To^vnsend was tenant until his death in 1704.^^ 

Samuel Townsend of Winnisimmet, who occupied the Cary 
farm, and Thomas Townsend of Rumney Marsh, who occupied 
part of the Vane allotment (the modern Fenno farm), their 
holdings separated only by Chelsea Creek, were sons of 
Thomas of Lynn, where Samuel was born about 1638. He 
joined the Boston church ^'^ September 18, 1681 ; was freeman 
in 1683 ; married Abigail, daughter of Samuel Davis ^^ (inn- 
keeper at Winnisimmet, and at one time tenant of part of the 

=1 April 25, 1867, sold with 43,410 feet of land to the city of Chelsea, 
and since used as a schoolhouse. (Ibid., L. 900, f. 309.) In 1852-53, 
Hon. Francis B. Fay, then in the House of Representatives, carried 
through Congress a bill for opening Congress Avenue across the hospital 
grounds. 

^- Ibid., L. 394, f. IIG. See L. 449, .f. 291; L. 475, f. 73; L 517, f. 25. 
[May 8, 1835, Benjamin ShurtlefT signed an agreement to sell to Thomas G. 
Cary et al.; July 10, 1835, he executed a conveyance of the same, the con- 
sideration being $50,000, — $10,000 in cash, and a mortgage secured on 
the land. On the same day Thomas G. Cary et al. transferred tlieir title to 
the Winnisimmet Company. (L. 393, f. 185. A plat of the farm, dated 
August 17, 1829, is recorded with this deed.) For the mortgage see 
L. 405, f. 43. The conveyance of July 31, 1835, cited in the text, was a 
release by Benj. Shurtleff, for $15,000, of a portion of the lands mort- 
gaged. The citations which follow it refer also to partial releases.] 

'' June 1, 1677, the General Court ordered that Penelope Bellingham, 
the governor's widow, among other things, should have " the farme now 
occupied by Samuell Townsend, during her naturall life." Mass. Col. Rec, 
v. 142. 1685, " Friday, May the first. Mother Sewall goes to Salem; my 
Wife and I go with her to visit Mrs. Bellingham, and so to the Ferry Boat 
in which met with a Hampshire Man that had been well acquainted with 
Mr. Co.x." (Sewall, Diary, i. 71.) I should like to read in Sewall that he 
and his wife accompanied his mother on her way to Salem as far as Win- 
nisimmet, and the7'e called on Madam Bellingham; but the Diary admits, 
perhaps requires, a different construction. [Mrs. Penelope Bellingham 
held a life lease of Governor Bellingham's mansion house in Boston.] 

" [It was the Second or North Church.] 

" Wyman. 

VOL. I. — 20 



306 HISTORY OF CHELSEA IChap. VII 

Vane allotment), held various town offices, and died December 
21, 1704. His gravestone is in the Revere churchyard. His 
family may have been connected with the Bellingham and 
Goodrick families. His widow died January 2, 1728/9, aged 
eighty-seven years and eight months, and was buried in Copp's 
Hill Cemetery. Their children were nine, sons and daugh- 
ters, some of whose descendants have been of note. In the 
State Archives ^® are several of his accounts, as tenant of 
Governor Bellingham. One is as follows : 

li s d 

ffor : 14 deayes : Carting : In the Yeer : 63 04-16-00 

ffor : VVintring & Sumering : of 4 horses 04-15-00 

ffor : Wintring of 2 Oxen 01-00-00 

10-11-00 

for : 4 dayes : Carting of fensinstuf to the Baackside of : 

Pouderhornehill : In : the yere : 64 01-08-00 

for : 1 : dayes : Carting of Clay and : Bricks 00-01-00 

for : 1 : dayes : Carting : of : Boords ; & Shingels : from the 

waterside 00-01-00 

for : 1 : dayes : Carting of Cordwoud to the watterside . . . 00-01-00 

for : 3 : dayes : Carting of fensin stuf : to : Wenesemit : . . 01-01-00 

for : wintring & Sumering of 6 horsis 06-00-00 

for : wintring & Sumering of 2 : Oxen & And 3 Steers . . . 03 - 1 1 - 00 

for : wintring : & Sumering : of : a hefer 00-15-00 

for : a : Hefer Sold to : Mr Bellengem 02-00-00 

for the : tearking In of a : nu feld . wheareof : you : Eare : 

to : beare half Which the half Is 04-00-00 

19 - 16 - 00 

This shows that the clay pit northerly of Powder Horn Hill 
was worked in 1G64,^^ and also opens to us Governor Bell- 
ingham's dealings with his tenants.^* Samuel Townsend's 
inventory, January 0, 1704/5, is that of a prosperous tenant- 
farmer near Boston in 1700. As he died intestate, by family 

''» Mass. Archives, c. 169-173. 

^ [In 1683 clay pits are mentioned, situated on 1% acres of land 
between the Eustace farm and " Ltt. Smith's corne ffields," that is south- 
east of Powder Horn Hill. Chamberlain MSS., i. 55.] 

" [This account, with others for the years 1667 to 1671, is printed in 
C. H. Townshend, The Townshend Family (cd. 1884). They show that the 
rent was paid almost entirely in farm produce and labor, in Indian 
corn, rye, wheat, oats, malt, turnips, peas, butter and cheese, eggs, wool, 
lambs, hogs; the carting of timber, driving of cattle to Boston and the 
like. At the time of Governor Bellingham's death the rent of the farm 
was £40 a year; in 1667 the account footed £36 14s.; in 1668, £40 5s. 5d.; 
in 1009, £43 lis, 9d., etc.] 



Chap. VII] GOVERNOR BELLINGHAM'S ESTATES 307 

arrangement May 17, 1708, two of his sons, Jonathan and 
Abram, took his assets, paying debts and stipulated sums to 
the widow and to the other children. ^^ 

As will be seen in the following chapters Governor Belling- 
ham's estates at Winnisimmet became those of Edward and 
Rebecca Watts, in her right; and on her death passed by her 
will, March 16, 1714/5, to her sons, to Edward, the eldest, 
one undivided half, and to the younger, Samuel and Daniel, 
each one quarter. During the life of Edward they were held 
in common, Edward occupying the Ferry farm, of about 
220 acres; Samuel, the Townsend farm of about 300 acres; 
and Daniel, the Senter or Carter farm, of about 160 acres. 
These estimates are of 1728. When Rebecca Watts died, 
March 25, 1715, her sons were respectively about twenty-one, 
seventeen and eleven years old. Edward at once assumed the 
manifold business, ferriage, innkeeping, store-keeping, and 

'" [When the estate was settled May 17, 1708, seven children were 
living, — Samuel (born 1661, settled in Charlestown, on the edge of 
Maiden. See Wyman and Corey) ; Jonathan (b. 1668) ; Solomon (b. 1676, 
lived in Boston, married for a second wife, in 1714, Esther Sugars, 
daughter of the Captain Gregory Sugars who commanded in 1690 the 
naval forces against Quebec) ; Elias (b. 1678, lived in Boston) ; Abra- 
ham (b. 1682) ; Isaac (twin brother of the latter, married a daughter of 
Captain Edmund Ranger, one of tlie witnesses to Governor Bellingham's 
will, and bought property on Winter Street, in Boston, adjoining that of 
Colonel Penn Townsend); and Anna (b. 1672). Jonathan Townsend 
married Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Waltham and granddaughter of 
Rev. Wm. Waltham of Marblehead, March 22, 1695. He was taxed at 
Rumney Marsh in 1701, was chosen constable in 1702, and fenceviewer 
in 1704 and 1707; apparently he was living on the farm in 1705, when 
the sheriff attached the dwelling-house of Abigail Townsend, widow, and 
that of Jonathan Townsend, husbandman. (Infra, chap. xiv. ) At his 
death he was of Lj'nn, where his widow was appointed administratrix, 
April 16, 1718. His eldest son, Jonathan, born in 1698, graduated from 
Harvard College in 1716, and became pastor of the church at Needham. 
Abraham Townsend was mentioned as tenant on the farm in May, 1716, 
in conveyances between Edward Watts and William Antram. ( Suff. 
Deeds, L. 30, f. 160.) June 12, 1728, the farm was described as lately in 
the possession of Abraham Townsend, but then of Samuel Watts. {Ibid., 
L. 42, f. 215.) Abraham Townsend married Mary Eustace, daughter of 
William Eustace of the adjoining farm, November 30, 1708. She died 
January 28, 1718. He removed to Maine and died in 1746. (See papers 
filed in the suit of Mary Eustace of Chelsea vs. Abraham Townsend of 
Little Falls, York County, on a bond of October 25, 1750, given by Abraham 
Townsend of Biddeford, York County, Inf. Court of Common Pleas for 
Suff. Co., November, 1773; also Townshend Family, 51-53.)] 



008 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VH 

farming at the Ferry farm, and carried it on until bis 
death in 1727; but it does not appear when the minors, 
Samuel and Daniel, occupied tbeir farms. Edward Watts died 
September 17, 1727. His widow, Anne Antram Watts, June 
12, 1728, conveyed to Thomas Greaves of CharlestowTi for 
£3000 all her interest in these farms, being nineteen thirtieths 
thereof ; "^^ and he in contemplation of their marriage made 
an indenture June 21, 1728, i^iih Dr. Timothy Cutler of 
Christ Church, Boston (\vho published a sermon on his death, 
1747), by which in case of their marriage he was to stand 
seized of this interest to their use for life with remainder, one 
half to the respective heirs of each.'*^ 

** Suff. Deeds, L. 42, f. 215. How she acquired an interest gi-eater than 
her dower does not clearly appear; but &ee Antram's deeds, ibid., L. 30, 
f. 160. [May 1, 1716, "Edward Watts of Winisimet Gentn and Anne his 
wife " conveyed to " William Antram of Boston Shopkeeper," for £3000 
nineteen thirtieths of the three farms at Winnisimmet and of the ferry 
rights. INIay 22, the latter conveyed the same to " Edward Watts and 
Anne his Wife their heirs and assignes forever." The deeds were recorded 
May 24 and May 25, respectively. (Suff. Deeds, L. 30, ff. 160, 161.) 
As Edward Watts left no child, nineteen thirtieths of the farms at Win- 
nisimmet belonged at his death to his wife. How Edward Watts in 1716 
came to own more than the half of the farms willed him by his mother 
in 1715 is not known, but presumably by payment of legacies or by im- 
provements on the estate. At his death his personal estate, valued at 
£2878 18s. lid., was divided according to law among his widow, his two 
brothers, Samuel and Daniel, and his sister Rebecca, wife of John Muzzey. 
The conveyance from tli« widow Ann Watts to Thomas Greaves was 
dated five days before she filed the inventory of the personal estate of 
Edward Watts, and eleven days before her marriage, Jvme 23, 1728, to 
Thomas Greaves by the rector of Christ Church. It was acknowledged on 
the same day, June 22, as the conveyance from Thomas Greaves to Dr. 
Cutler mentioned in the text; both were recorded July 10, 1728. (Suff. 
Deeds, L. 42, ff. 215, 216.)] 

*' Ibid., L. 42, f. 216. [If Mrs. Ann Watts survived Thomas Greaves, 
one half was to belong to herself and her heirs and assigns forever, and one 
half was to pass to his heirs after her death ; if he survived her, one third 
was" to pass to her heirs after his death, and two thirds was to be- 
long to liim, his heirs and assigns forever. Mrs. Ann Greaves died in 
March, 1738, aged 49; he survived until June, 1747. Thomas Greaves 
was a graduate of Harvard College (1703), a physician, a representative 
to the General Court, and from 1733 until his death a Judge of the ]Mid- 
dlesex Court of Common Pleas. He was the first warden of Christ Church, 
where Edward Watts was a vestryman, and though he lived in Charles- 
town, was a constant attendant.] A son was born to Edward and Anne 
(Antram) Watts. IMay 27, 1718 (Boston Records), but on the division of 
his father's estate, as above, no provision was made for any child, and 
it may be assumed that none was then living. [The child died July 17, 
1718, aged seven weeks. Boston Records.] 



Chap. VII] GOVERNOR BELLINGHAM'S ESTATES 399 

By tripartite indenture of June 25, 1728, Samuel Watts 
became sole owner of the Ferry farm, Thomas Greaves and 
Anne his wife of the Gary farm, and Daniel Watts of the 
Carter farm.'*^ 

Anne Watts Greaves devised ^^ the Gary farm to her step- 
daughter, Margaret Greaves, wife of Captain Samuel Gary, 
whose heirs sold it for $150,000 to the Gary Improvement 
Company May 1, 1852. ■*■* Those recently living remembered 
two old farm houses, besides the Gary mansion, standing on 
the farm, one not far from Slade's Mill, and the other on 
the eastern side of Eastern Avenue, near its junction with 
Broadway.^^ 

This farm has an interesting history. It is the largest and- 
most favorably situated of the Bellingham farms. Fairly 
divided into upland and meadow, it was the most productive. 
The descendants of Samuel Townsend and Samuel Gary, 
sometime tenants or occupants of this farm, have filled 
public stations. Unlike many of the great Chelsea farms, 
in its earlier and later days it was occupied by its proprietors, 
and four generations of Garys were born or have lived on it. 

Thomas Greaves,^*' father of Margaret Greaves Gary, mar- 
ried, first, Sybil Avery, the mother of his children; secondly, 
Anne Antram, widow of Edward Watts the younger, of Chel- 
sea; and thirdly, Phoebe, widow of Leonard Vassall of Boston, 
who survived him. Samuel Gary, son of Samuel and Mary 
Foster Gary of Charlestown, where he was born l^ovember 29, 
1713, graduated at Harvard College in 1731. He followed 
the seas, and was kno^vn as Captain Gary. It is not cer- 
tainly known at what time he began to reside at Chelsea, wliere 
his death is recorded in the Church Records December 7, 1769, 
though W}^llan gives it as on the fourth and his burial on the 
seventh, from his brother Richard's house in Gharlesto\vn.^^ 

^ Suff. Deeds, L. 42,.f. 297, given infra, pp. 331-3.33. 

*^ [See hifra, p. 3G9.] 

** Suff. Deeds, L. G25, f. 180; L. 632, f. 198. [See infra, p. 371.] 

" [According to the assessor's list for the direct tax of 1798, two houses 
stood on the farm, the mansion house and a one-storv cottage 28 X 13 
feet.] 

*" As he wrote his name, and as his great-grandson, Tliomas Greaves 
Gary was baptized. 

" Gen. and Estates of Charlestown, 179, 433. 



310 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

Hon. Samuel Watts' memorandum book says, " Capt. Cary 
Dyed betwen the 3*^. & fourth of December, 1769." ''s The 
family genealogy enters it as December 8. He married, De- 
cember 24, 1741, Margaret Greaves, who was born July 19, 
1719, and died October 8, 1762, presumably at Charlesto^vn, 
as her death is not recorded at Chelsea. She is described as 
" small in person, plain, being pitted with the smallpox, but 
very intelligent and active, and assisted her father frequently 
in his apothecary's shop." "^^ They had four children : Samuel, 
born September 20, 1742 ; Thomas, October 7, 1745 ; Jona- 
than, October 21, 1749; and Abigail Coit. 

Samuel Cary was educated to business and went to St. Kitts, 
on the island of Grenada, where for many years he was engaged 
in buying and selling cargoes, and finally became a planter. 
On one of his home visits he became acquainted with Sarah, 
only daughter of Ellis Gray of Boston, born in 1753, whom he 
married November 5, 1772. They began their new life in 
the old mansion house at Chelsea, which had been suitably 
furnished for them.^*^ The next summer Mr. Cary returned 

*' [The Massachusetts Gazette and News-Letter of Thursday, December 
7, 17C9, records: "Last Monday Morning died at his Seat in Chelsea, 
after a few Days Illness, Samuel Cary, Esq; in the 58th [sic] Year of his 
Age. — A Gentleman of superiour Abilities, and polite Accomplishments. 
His Remains are to be interred this Afternoon from Richard Cary, Esq ; in 
Charlestown." So many discrepancies of tiiis nature between the church 
records of deaths, and records found elsewhere, have been noted, that it is 
open to question whether the former may not be a list of the funerals at 
which the Rev. Pliillips Payson was present or officiated. It seems to have 
been a custom of the proprietors of the Cary farm in the eio^hteenth 
century, as of Captain Keayne in the seventeenth, to retain certain rooms 
for their own use in the farmhouse at Chelsea, where the tenant farmer 
lived. Evidence of this is given by Mrs. Cary in 1791 and 1801. (Cary 
Letters, 90, IG4.) It is noticeable that Flora, servant of Captain Cary, 
owned the covenant at Runmej' Marsh October 29, 1709, and her son 
Hambletfc was baptized there on the same day. This is the first reference 
to tiie family in tiie eiiurcii records. After this date an almost constant 
occupation of these rooms can be traced. The presumption is that the 
custom did not exist before the death of Mrs. Samuel Cary in 1702, the 
purchase from the heirs of Mrs. Ann Greaves in 1703, and the division in 
1705 of the estates till then held in common by Samuel Cary and James 
Russell, and the assignment to Captain Cary of this farm, as described infra, 
pp. 309-372. Tradition says that the " house was what is called an L-house, 
till [Captain Caryl had the northeast corner built." (Cary Letters, 5.)] 

" The Cary Letters, 3: An interesting collection to which I am much 
indebted for the history of the family. 

** Cary Letters, 15. 



4' ■ 






^• 








I- 



I 



Chap. VII] GOVERNOR BELLINGHAJVf'S ESTATES 311 

to Grenada, leaving his wife with her mother presumably at 
Chelsea; for there she joined the church August 1, 1773, 
and there, according to the family genealogy (though the 
Chelsea records make no mention of it), their son Samuel was 
born October 17 of the same year. The next winter reluc- 
tantly leaving her infant son with her mother at Chelsea, as 
I suppose, she joined her husband at Grenada, which was her 
home for eighteen years. She died at Chelsea August 26, 
1825.^1 

Both Captain Samuel Cary, seaman, and his son, the West 
India planter and merchant, were much abroad, and for 
many years the Cary farm was without resident proprietor.^^ 
I have inquired with some diligence, but with little success, 
as to the tenants who lived on this farm between 1742 and 
1792.^^ I find no memorandum, public or private, that it was 
taxed to the family before 1784; and as leases were seldom 
recorded, it is not easy in the absence of family papers to^ 
learn the name of the tenants. But Captain Samuel Sprague 
may have occupied it from 1755 (and perhaps earlier) until 
his death in 1783. But it does not follow that the tenant of 
the farm occupied the principal mansion, as there were two 

" They had thirteen children: Samuel, b. at Chelsea, Oct. 17, 1773, 
d. at sea, 1810, unmarried. There were born at Grenada: Margaret, 1775, 
d. single at Chelsea, 1868; Charles Spooner, 1778, d. at Chelsea, 18G6; 
Lucius, 1782, d. single in England, 1826; Sarah, 1783, m. Rev. Joseph 
Tuckerman, d. at Boston, 1838; Henry, 1785 (?), d. in Florence, 1857; 
Anne Montagu, 1787, d. at Chelsea, 1882; Edward, 1789, d. 1808; Har- 
riet, 1790, d. 1873. Besides Samuel, there were born at Chelsea: Thomas 
Greaves, 1791, d. at Nahant, 1859 (Town Treasurer 1817) ; George Blankern, 
1792, d. 1880; Robert Howard, 1794, d. 1867; William Ferdinand, 1795, 
d. 1881. 

" I find no evidence that Captain Cary resided on his farm before 1768. 
In that year his name is on the tax list; but was erased, probably because 
the assessors learned that, as theretofore, the estate was to be taxed to the 
tenant. From Wyman one might infer that his death, as well as his 
funeral, was at Charlestown; but the Cary Letters leave little doubt on 
this point. They say that " the old gentleman passed the last few years 
of his life at Chelsea," and that in his last sickness, " old Mrs. Daniel 
Pratt, who lived in the Pratt neighborhood, was called in to nurse him." 
(Letters, 5, 6.) [See supra, note 48.] 

" [In the division of 1728, this farm was assigned to Thomas and Ann 
Greaves; their home was in Charlestown. In conveyances dated March, 
1737/8, and September, 1749, Stephen Kent is mentioned as the tenant 
of the farm, and Joseph Gould, of the house near the mills (Suff. Deeds, 
L. 67, ff. 76, 77 ; L. 105, ff. 66-72; L. 78, IT. 235, 236). Infra, pp. 374-377.] 



312 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

farm houses on the estate, either of which was nearer the centre 
of town affairs than the Gary house.^^ It was not uncommon 
in those days for an enterprising farmer to carry on a farm he- 
sides his own, and Capt. S2)rague's taxes during this period 
indicate that he paid for an estate much larger than his o^ti, 
according to the records in Rumney Marsh, one as hirge as 
the Keayne, or the IvTewgate, or the Williams farm ; but on his 
death his executors paid for one only about a third as large.^^ 
That he was in possession of the Cary farm in 1773 perhaps 
may be inferred from a letter of John Tudor, who speaks of 
meeting him at Mr. Gary's. Samuel Gary's name appears on 
the tax list of December, 1772, but no tax is against it. When 
Mr. and Mrs. Gary went to Grenada in 1773, they left their 
son with his grandmother, Mrs. Gray, who appears to have 
lived on the farm until her death in 1791.^** Gaptain Sprague 
died in 1783. At one time James Low, son of John and 
Abigail, born September 22, 1777, and father of the late Hon. 
John Low, carried on the farm and occupied part of the 
mansion house; but it does not appear at what time his ten- 
ancy began. October 17, 1802, Mrs. Gary wrote to her son 
Samuel, then in Grenada, '' this is the last harvest while Mr. 
Low is here. Lie, poor fellow, quits us because his earnings 
are too small to maintain a growing family. Your father has 
engaged another family to come to the house and take the farm 
at the halves." °^ In the winter of 1775-6, during the siege 
of Boston, some of Washington's troops occupied the Gary 
mansion as barracks ; and the tradition is that the furniture 
and pictures could scarcely have fared worse had they belonged 
to a tory family instead of to one patriotic.^ ^ 

Mr. Gary, having acquired what he considered a competent 

" [Apparently Captain Sprajrue lived in the mansion house, certain 
rooms therein being reserved, from about the year 17fi8, for the use of 
Captain Cary and his descendants. See supra, notes 45, 48; infra, Appen- 
dixes 8, 9.] 

'=• [Infra, p. 375.1 

^ Cary Letters, 24, 27, 4.3; [also (55, fiO, 70, 71, 79, SG]. 

" Cary Letters, 172. [Infra, pp. 370, 377.] 

" Ibid., 11. [Samuel Cary and his wife were then resident in the West 
Indies, but sj-mpathized with the patriotic cause. (Cary Letters, 19.) The 
reference cited does not state that the house was used as barracks. As 
Captain Samuel Sprague dwelt there, it would naturally serve as an army 
centre.] 



Chap. VII] GOVERNOR BELLINGHAM'S ESTATES 313 

fortune, returned to Chelsea July 2, 1791, leaving his oldest 
son to carry on the business, but bringing with him his wife, 
seven children born in Grenada, and three black servants, of 
whom only Fanny Fairweather ended her days in Chelsea.^^ 

Mr. Gary remodelled the old house at the cost of $12,000, 
making it a fine specimen of colonial architecture.^^ There 
were then no trees about the place; but he soon planted the 
east and west avenues with elms, which became majestic; 
bordered his grounds between Broadway and Washington 
Avenue with hawthorn shrubs, which grew to trees, as some 
living saw; made a dyke across Ghelsea Greek, which gave 
him a fine fish pond ; ^^ discovered a fine spring up the hill- 
side, to be conveyed to the house ; ®^ planted a garden, and 
improved his lands so that in due time this place, named The 
Retreat, on the southeasterly slope of Powder Horn Hill 
(whose summit belonged mainly to the estate, commanding 
prospects that, once seen, are never forgotten), became one of 
the most beautiful in the vicinity of Boston. 

To this place, though not easily accessible before the build- 
ing of Ghelsea Bridge in 1803, canle people from Boston, 
attracted by the beauty of the situation, or as relatives of its 
occupants, whose talents, culture, and intimate knowledge of 
strange lands and life, made their society interesting. The 
marriage of their daughter Sarah with Rev. Joseph Tucker- 
man in 1808 added to the charm of this circle. He succeeded 
the Rev. Phillips Payson as pastor of the church, which Mr. 
Gary joined July 23, 1797, as his wife had done nearly a 
quarter of a century before. The opening of Ghelsea Bridge 
and Salem Turnpike, incorporated March, 1802, gave the Gary 
family easier communication with their Boston friends as well 
as with what is now Revere, where they worshipped, and with 
the Tuckerman parsonage, which was about two miles distant 
from The Retreat. 

" Letters, 42, 48. The following incidents in tlie Cary family are from 
the Chelsea Church Records: 17G9, Oct. 20, Flora, a negro sorvt. of Capt. 
Cary, owned the Covt; she & her son Hamblctt, baptized; 1770, Feb. 11, 
Joseph, her son, baptized; 1772, July 12, Prrscilla, her daughter, baptized; 
1708, Sept. 23, David Fayerweather married to Fanny Cary — Blacks. 

«• Ibid., 4.5. 

" Ibid., 129, 134, 159, 166. 

•« Ibid., 169. 



314 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

Chelsea at that time provided only the cheapest educational 
advantages, and not even these in the vicinity of the Gary 
estate ; ^^ but some of the children had been sent to England, 
and some to a private school in Medford for education ; and 
Dr. Phillips Payson, vt^hose services as an instructor of youth 
have never been duly acknowledged, was not remote.®^ And 
so passed the agreeable life of the Gary family at Ghelsea, 
glimpses of which some of us have had and admired even when 
its primal glory had departed. 

Adversity came soon. The negro insurrection of 1795 in 
the West Indies imperilled and chiefly destroyed the value of 
Mr. Gary's property in Grenada. To rescue it he went 
thither; but on the voyage he was taken prisoner by the 
French, and only with great difficulty saved his life. On his 
return to Ghelsea he was obliged to accommodate himself to 
new circumstances. Ghelsea finances not allowing a school 
taught by a master for the whole year, a mistress was employed 
for the summer months, during which the older boys assisted 
on the farm.^^ 

Mr. Gary died August 1, 1812, and his widow in 1825. 
Two of their daughters, known as Miss Harriet and Miss Ann, 
lived in the old mansion in recent days, and died sincerely 
mourned by all who had known them. The Gary mansion 
still stands, but its glories have passed away with those who 
once inhabited it. 

" [There was no school near the Gary farm when the family came 
tliither from the West Indies in Jn\j, 1091; but one was built within the 
next six months, and a master engaged for it. This v.as the school over 
which, as mentioned in the text, a woman was placed in the spring 
of 1792, because Chelsea could not afford to pay "all the year round for 
a man's school." (Cary Letters, 88, 92, 95, 114.) In 1795, when the news 
of losses in the West Indies arrived, the children were recalled from the 
boarding school in Medford; and the j'oungest received the rudiments of 
their education in tliis little schoolhouse. {Ibid., 99, 112, 114.) In 1799, 
Henry was at Billerica Academy. (Ibid., 147; also, 172, 170.) Three 
of the younger sons graduated from Harvard College: in 1811, Thomas 
Greaves Cary, later a member of the Mass. Hist. Soc. ; in 1810, Robert 
Howard Cary (M.D. 1820); in 1817, William Ferdinand Cary.] 

" [The Rev. Pliillips Payson died in 1801. The eldest son, Samuel Cary, 
studied Latin with him before leaving Chelsea, at about ten years of age 
it is said, for a school in England. (Cary Letters, 71, 73.)] 

" Letters, 88, 95. 



Chap. VII] GOVERNOR BELLINGHAM'S ESTATES 315 

The 8 enter, or Carter, Farm 

The fovirth of Governor Bellingham's estates at Winnisim- 
met was early known as the Senter,®*' and in later years as the 
Carter farm. 

On the division of the Watts farms in 1728 the.Senter farm, 
as has been said, was taken by Daniel, afterwards known as 
Deacon Watts. He, like all the children of Edward and Eebecca 
Watts, was born in England, and came to Winnisimmet with 
his parents in 1710. Unlike his brothers he was only a 
farmer, and lacked their opportunities for gaining wealth. 
The inventory of his personal estate shows only simple furni- 
ture and a small farm stock. His real estate was valued as 
follows : «' 

L money 

To 16 acres of mowing and Plow land at £10 pr acre . . £160 00 00 

to 66 acres of Pasture Land at 6 £ 396 00 00 

To 56 acres of Sallet marsh at 3 £ pr acre 168 00 00 

To a Mansion House 86 13 04 

Barn & hog house nere the house -. . 13 6 08 

the Great Barn & Hay Scrues 17 6 08 

to the Pew in Chelsea Meetting house 6 00 00 

£847 6 8 

September 27, 1739, for £310, he sold to Benjamin Blaney ^^ 
twelve acres of land.^'' This included the modern Heard estate 
on the southerly side of County Avenue, on which were lately 
built the mansions of Judge Bosson, Frank S. Hersom, and 

"" [This note has been placed as an appendix to this chapter; see p. 378.] 

*' [Draft in handwriting of Samuel Watts], Chamberlain MSS., ii. 5. 

'^^ Though Captain Blaney owned this estate in Chelsea he did not live 
there, but a little over the Everett line, not far westerly of the " Everett 
Springs," where his house is still standing. He was an ardent patriot in 
1775, and from his proximity to Chelsea he frequently acted with its 
people in public affairs. Tlie brothers, Ambrose and Benjamin Blaney, were 
customers of Samuel Watts as early as 1742; but I cannot say that the 
latter was Captain Benjamin Blaney. [Benjamin Blaney, who bought 
this land, was captain of the Maiden militia from 1746 till his death, 
February 8, 1750/51. (Maiden Vital Records, 331 ; Corey, 718.) He came 
from Lynn in 1724; his house and tan yard near the South Spring in 
Maiden had formerly been occupied by John Brintnall, second of the 
name. {Supra, p. 47.) Benjamin Blaney, the son, was born July 24, 1738, 
was an ensign in the Maiden militia in 1765, and captain in 1774. (Vital 
Records of Maiden ; Corey, 720, etc.) ] 

^* Infra, Appendix 11. 



31 G HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

Dr. W. R. Chipman. Colonel John H. Cunningham's estate, 
though on County Avenue, was not part of the Blaney pur- 
chase. In 1757 Joseph Whittemore paid £1 9s. 7d. 2f. for the 
rates of 1756 '^ on his part of Deacon Watts's farm." I find 
no record of a conveyance of the farm to Samuel Watts ; but 
from memoranda I infer that he purchased the greater part 
of it."^" 

Daniel Watts died June. 7, 1760, aged fifty-six, and his wife 
Elisabeth March 21, before, aged fifty-seven. His will, May 
29, 1760, mentions daughters Eachel Leverett, Sarah, and 
Catherine.^ ^ 

On the division of the estate of Hon. Samuel Watts in 1772 
the westerly half of the mansion house of Daniel Watts, and 
that part of Powder Horn Hill which was bounded easterly by 
the Cary estate, were set ofi to Dr. Edward Watts of Falmouth, 

'0 (No date.) The pasture J boufjlit of Brother Watts £G00 
the Remainder of his Farm 5889 



6489 

To Sundries for Ditching 100 

G589 



the Interest thereof pr Annum is . . . 383 16 
Account Book of Samuel Watts, 1765-69. [According to tlie executors' 
account (Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 64, f. 618) the real estate was " struck off at 
vendue."] 

1765, August 22. The sheriff levied an execution for £34 18 6 in favor 
of Mary Harris, on 8V2 acres of marsh-land at £4 pr acre. Suff. Deeds, 
L. 105, f. 163. [September 16, 1788, Mary Harris sold this to Dr. Samuel 
Danforth for £15. (Suff. Deeds, L. 163, f. 190.) ] 
" The executors account for sales of real estate, is 

£708 
Personal 53 1 7 



761 1 7 

Debts and expenses 628 9 10% 

132 11 8% 
Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 64, f. 620. [The following entries rehating to the 
settlement of the estate of Daniel Watts appear in the Day Book of 
Samuel Watts, Chamberlain MSS. : "Nov. 10, 1764. Mr. Leveret" in full for 
his wives portion in her Father Watts Este, £150. 

Augt 18 1766 . pd mr Bridge forty five pounds on Catharine Wattss 
Accot for him to give her Sister Sarah Watts sd Catherine gave a Receipt 
on the Back of a note she has of mine. 
./ Sept 5, 1766 . pd John Watts in full of his portion of his Late Fathers 

Estate, £40 : 00 : 0. 

Septr 16, 1769 Pd my Nece Catherine Watts in full of her Share and por- 
tion of her Fathers Estate."] 



Chap. VII] GOVERNOR BELLTNGHAM'S ESTATES 317 

Maine. This with other lots which fell to him he sold to 
Moses Collins for £564 Cs. 8d. March 13, 1773.^2 

The easterly half of the house and several lots of land were 
set off to Hannah, wife of Dr. Samuel Danforth,'^^ who by 
later purchases became one of the largest owners of the marsh 
which stretches from the foot of Powder Horn Hill to the 
Mystic River. He sold these estates to William Hall for 
$26,000, with mortgage back for $14,000, March 11, 1806. 
March 16, 1808, Hall reconveyed to Danforth,''* who sold them 
for $10,000 to Thomas Furber October 16, 1813;^^ and 
Furber, to Richard Williams for $6,500 March 10, 1821."^^ 
Rachel Williams, as guardian of the children of Richard, sold 
the Daniel Watts estate of five parcels, in all 128 acres, to 
William B. Reynolds for $4,800 May 1, 1824;^^ and he, 
to Joshua Carter for $7,000 September 2, 1835.'^ 

August 1, 1856, the heirs of Joshua Carter for $60,000 
conveyed to Wm. R. Pearmain and others, trustees of the 
Chelsea Highland Company, a part of Powder Horn Hill.^^. 
This company in 1882 sold by auction its lands then unsold, 

" Suflf. Deeds, L. 123, f. 102. [For its later acquisition by Dr. Samuel 
Danforth, see infra, Appendix 11.] 

" Dr. Samuel Danforth [H. C. 1758], son-in-law to Hon. Samuel Watts, 
and owner of much real estate in Chelsea, was not a citizen whose 
biography 1 might detail ; but it may be mentioned that he was a loyalist, 
and as such his conduct was observed by the whigs. In 1778 he with 
some others was imprisoned for a few hours, and then released under 
circumstances which incurred the animadversion of the Committee of 
Safety for Boston. Their report, and a counter memorial of Dr. James 
Lloyd and Dr. Samuel Danforth, may be seen in Acts & Resolves, v. 848, 
849. 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 215, ff. 22, 23; L. 225, f. 34. 

" Ibid., L. 243, f. 14. 

" Ibid., L. 270, f. 297. Parcels substantially identical. [Thomas Furber 
conveyed to Williams the lands purcliased of Samuel Danforth October 16, 
1813, except such parts as he had alfeady sold to Joseph Hurd of Charles- 
town, Aaron Dexter of Boston, and the President and Directors of the 
Massachusetts Bank. The lands excepted were a few acres in Maiden, and 
120 or 130 acres of marshland in Chelsea. See infra, Appendix 11.] 

" Ibid., L. 290, f. 61. [This sale was subject to the dower rights of 
Rachel Williams. By a separate deed of the same date she released her 
right of dower for $1200. (L. 290, f. 02.) Thus the full consideration 
was ."fOOOO.] 

" Ibid., L. 396, f. 42. There are two plans parts of this estate by 
John Low, May, 1848, and October, 1853; others by John Cunningham, 
1800; by Joseph R. Carr, Jr., 1871; by W. A. Williams, September, 'l 371; 
by Joseph R. Carr, Jr., 1872; and by Whitman & Breck, 1873. 

" Ibid., L. 703, f. 1. 



318 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

and dissolved,^*^ A few years since there stood on the north- 
erly side of Washington Avenue and the westerly side of 
Winthrop Street a house and barn occupied and perhaps built 
by Daniel Watts.^^ It is shown in the vignette painted by 
Nathaniel Rudd, Esqr., who has kindly permitted its use for 
this work. On the site of that house stands that erected by the 
late Levi Slade ; and on the site of the stable the house of 
Mellen Chamberlain, erected in 1870. 

"" [March 24, 1884, the trustee filed releases of the property in question; 
nearly all were dated October 19, 1882. SuflF. Prob. Rec, L. 556, f. G6.] 

** [In 1773 a part of this farm was conveyed to Moses Collins with " the 
half of a dwelling house that was built by Deacon Daniel Watts, and also 
with a large barn." The house faced the south, and fifteen poles of land 
adjoining it to the west were bounded west and south by the road from 
Winnisimmet ferry to Lynn. (SufiF. Deeds, L. 12.3. f. 102.) The site of 
the mansion house of Joshua Carter is marked on the plan of the Carter 
estate recorded in SuflF. Deeds, L. 589, end of vol. ; also on the map of 
Chelsea showing the location of the Bellingham farms, supra, p. 294.] 



I 

J 



CiiAP. VII] APPENDIX 1 319 



APPE]^DIX 1 

[Lieutenant John Smith was the son of Francis Smith 
of Heading. His lease of the Ferry farm was dated in Janu- 
ary, 1664/5. He was then about forty-four years of age. At 
Reading he had been an innkeeper, lieutenant of the military 
company of the town since 1656, and many years a selectman.^ 
He married for a first wife Catharine, daughter of Isaac Morrell 
of Eoxbury. She died, it is said, in 1662. Five children by the 
first marriage were living when Isaac Morrell made his will in 
December, 1661: Mary, John (born 1651), Isaac (b. 1655), 
Francis (b. 1658), and Abraham (b. 1661). Isaac was killed 
by the Indians at York, Maine, in 1677.^ In 1697 only two chil- 
dren by this first marriage were living, Francis Smith, who 
married Ruth, daughter of Elias Maverick, and returned to 
Reading, where he dwelt on his grandfather's homestead, and 
became selectman, town clerk, and deacon in the church ; and 
Mary, who married Major Jeremiah Sweyne of Reading, the com- 
mander of a regiment sent against the Eastern Indians, a Deputy 
to the General Court, and an Assistant.^ 

The second wife of Lieutenant John Smith was Mary Bill, 
daughter of James Bill, Sr., of Pulling Point. August 4, 1676, 
John Smith conveyed a lot of land in Boston to his father-in-law, 
James Bill, for the use of his wife Mary and his children by her. 
Three daughters by this marriage were living in 1702: Jemimah, 
who married, first, Paul Maverick of Winnisimmet, son of Elias 

^ Eaton, Reading, 111, 14, 281; MSS. Records of Inf. Court of Common 
Pleas for Middlesex County (1699-1722) 111; Middlesex County Court 
Records, October 7, 1056. 

= Sewall, Diary, i. 41. April 11, 1677. 

^ Eaton, Reading, 115; Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 1. f. 379; Suff. Deeds, L. 
11, f. 177; L. 14, f. 282; L. 18, f. 208; L. 28 f. 257. According to papers 
filed in a suit Francis Smith, July 3, 1649, conveyed a farm in Reading of 
two hundred fifty acres to John and Catharine Smith for life, with reversion 
to their children. John Smith sold his rights therein. In 1707 Francis 
Smith son of Captain John Smith, deceased, and Jeremiah Sweyne, in the 
right of his wife Mary, sued to regain this land. It is there stated that Mary 
Sweyne was the daughter of Captain John Smith, and not, as Eaton sup- 
posed, his sister. MSS. Records of Inf. Court of Common Pleas for Middle- 
sex County (1699-1722), 111; Mass. Archives, xl. 917. 



320 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Cuap. VII 

Maverick, St., and, second, Henry Eichman of Boston ; Anne, wife 
of Jonathan Tuttle of Kumney Marsh; and Plioebc, wife of Jolin 
Brintnall/ According to Eaton, Jemimah Smith was born in 
1670; and Phoebe according to the Boston Eecords June 27, 
1673. 

May 30, 1711, John Brintnall stated that he had kept the inn 
at Winnisimniet and attended the service of the ferry for seven- 
teen years.^ Presumably he and his wife lived with Captain Jolm 
Smith after the death of her mother in 1693/4. Yet Captain 
Smith left a widow named Esther." His will and the inventory 
of his estate are in the Suffolk Probate Records.'' 

When the Three County Troop was disbanded in 1690, and a 
ninth company of the militia of Boston formed, the train soldiers 
of Eumney Marsh were directed to meet at Lieutenant Smith's to 
nominate officers. In 1691, he was captain of this company.^] 

* Suff. Deeds, L. 24, flf. 132, 135, 137; L. 28, f. 257. 
^ Infra, chap. xxiv. 

« Suff. Deeds, L. 28, f. 257. 
^ L. 16, ff. 193, 237. 

* Mass. Archives, xxxv. 348; Sewall, Diary, i. 348. September 14, 1G91. 



Chap. VII] 



APPENDIX 2 



321 



APPENDIX 2 



[The following items from the tax lists ^ show the comparative 
values of the Bellingham farms. 

In 1674 the rate of John Smith was 8 shillings ; Nicholas Eice 
3s.; Samuel Townsend, 45.; and Jeremiah Belcher (Center farm) 
4s. 



1676 

Lt. John Smith 
W" Eustise 

(Rice farm) 
Samuel Townsend 
Jeremiah Belcher 

(Center farm) 



Lands. 
Acres. 



40 
60 



30 



Houses 

30 

*10 
20 

10 



Horses 
2 



Cows 

8 



Swine 
6 

10 



Sheep 
40 



£-0 c8S 



1687 




1 

n 


e8 o 

< 


a 

i 


o 

a 
e 
K 

O 


s 
s 

5£ 


a — • 

a S 

" S 
o >> 

w 

2.S 
to 
3£ 


a>5 a 

H » 
^^ 

30s 
to 

5£ 


a-H 
'$ 

CO 

lOs 


tig 

■|« 

O 

m 

20s 

£ 


s 


John Smith 






30 


70 


2 


5 


5 


30 


1 


10 — 


11 


W" Ustis 






30 


70 


4 


14 


2 


30 


5 


5 — 


11 


Sara'U Townsend 




30 


70 


2 


20 


4 


14 


5 


4 — 


12 


Jeremy Belcher / 
John Sentor 5 




15 


45 


2 


7 


2 


10 


1 


3 — 


6 




15 


45 


2 


7 


2 


10 


1 


3 — 


7 


1692 — 


John 


Smith 








£1 












William 


Eustice 






6s. 










Samuel Townsend 






12s. 










John Canter 








14s. 









John Brintnall 
(Ferry farm) 



Rates for 1701 and 1702. 

polls negroes oxen cows horses sheep hogs 

1701 2 2 2 7 63 4 farm 150 acres 

by lease 

1702 2 12 5 6 40 2 Upland and 

Mado 100 acres 



* Boston Rec. Com. Rep., i. 59, 66, 132; x. 130, 142, 148, 149. 
VOL. I. — 21 



322 



HISTORY OF CHELSEA 



[Chap. VII 



William Eustace 1701 2 2 
1702 2 2 



10 



Samuel Townsend 1701 2 4 

1702 2 4 

John Center 1701 3 2 

1702 3 2 



1 50 1 20: yearly 

rent or worth 
1 60 1 of houses or 
Lands. 



10 1 30 2 

10 30 2 30: " 



2 45 1 13: " 
1 40 1 ] 



Chap. VII] 



APPENDIX 3 



32: 



APPENDIX 3 



Intantoby ^ OF THE Persenel Estait OF Mf Edward Watts of Win- 

NESIMET DeCESP TaKEN By VS THE SUBSCRIBERS VlzT 

1 lapaned Chist Drawers @ £14 .0.0 

1 Tabel Ditto @ 4.0.0 

1 Looking Glass Ditto @ 10 . 10 . 

1 Black Walnot Chist of Drawers .... 8.0.0 

1 Table Ditto 2 . 10 . 

1 Ouell Table 3.10.0 " 42 . 10 . 

1 Doz Cain Cheires @ 35/ 21 . . 

2 Great Elbow Cheirs @ 70/ 7.0.0 

1 Great Cheire @ 6.0.0 

1 Dressing Glass 1 . 15 . 

Sundry Pictuers 5.0.0 " 40 . 15 . 

One the mantelltree Glasses &c 1.6.0 

1 Doz Danias Knapkins 2.8.0 

1 Table Cloth Ditto 1 . 10 . 

6 Dieper Knapkins @ 3/6 1.1.0 

11 Ditto @ 2/6 1.7.6 

2 Table Cloths @ 25/ 2 . 10 . 10 . 2 . 6 

1 pair Sheets 1.0.0 

3 Singell Sheats 3.0.0 

5 pair Cottin & linin Sheats 6.5.0 

1 pr Cottin Do 30/ 2 pr ordnory Do @ 15/ . 3.0.0 

5 pr Coars Linin Sheats @ 20/ 5.0.0 

1 pi- Windo Curtings 20/ & 2 Cushings 20/ . 2.0.0 

li/o Doz. Knapkins @ 1/0 . 18 . 21 . 3 . 

2 Cottin & linin Table Cloths 1.0.0 

5 Old Table Cloths 1 . 12 . 

3 Coars Cloths 0.3.0 

1 Spy Glass . 10 . 

a Silver Helted Soard & Belt 6.0.0 

7 pr Pillow Bears @ 4/ 1.8.0 

1 pr new Cottin Sheats 1 . 10 . 

1 Bead Boalsters & Pillow qt 64ib at 3/ . . 9 . 12 . " 22 . 1 . 

1 pair Blankets 2.0.0 

a Callico quilt ; 3.0.0 

1 pr Brass Dogs Tongs & Shovell 2.5.0 

a Xest of Draws 0.2.6 

a Bed Stid Curtings & Valiants 5.0.0 

1 Doz. Qt Botells & 13 other Ditto .... 0.8.4 

■ Suff. Prob. Files, 5519, — [the original document with autograph 
signatures and official endorsement.] 



324 



HISTORY OF CHELSEA 



0. 
10. 



12 Eartlien Dishis 1 Tcapott & 2 Boals . . 

1 Brush & a Whip 

1 Bead Stid Curtings & Valiants 

1 Ditto 

1 Quilt 

1 pair Blenkits 

1 Quilt 

1 paire Benkits 

1 Bead & Bolster & 6 pil-] 

lows qt 851 I is 159ib @ 2/6 19 . 17 . 6 
1 Do a Bolster & 4 pillows I 

qt 74 

3 Blankets @ 15/ 2.5 

6 old Chairs at 3/ 0.18 

1 old Chist & 1 joynt Stoll 1.5 

3 Draughts of the Farmes 0.4 

1 Side Sadie 5 . 10 

Sume Carried Ouer is 

Brought Over 

2 Trunks & 1 entry Box 1 . 10 

Sundry Basketts &c 0.5 

1 Glass & 1 old Brush 0.2 

1 Blew Lased Coat & Britchis 10 

1 Hatt 2 

1 Black Jacot & Britchis 2 

1 Blew Coat Silver Bottons 3 

1 Black Coat & 4 pair britchis 5 

1 Cloth Coat 5 

1 Duroye Coat & 1 pF Sagethe Britchis . . 1 . 10 

1 old Sinimon Cloth Coat & Jacot .... 2 
a Wigg 7.0 

2 Ruffeled Shirts @ 50/ 5.0 

4 Ditto @ 30/ 6.0 

1 Ditto @ 10/ . 10 

2 old Wiggs 1 . 10 

2 Hatts 2. 10 

9 Turnovers & 5 Stocks 2 . 10 

1 Blew Coat & Cloak 3.0 

2 pr Shews . 12 

1 Wosted Cap 0.5 

4 pair Silk hose 2 . 10 

5 pair old wosted Do 1 . 10 

a Cap 0.5 

2 pair Boots 2 

a Case Pistolls 2 

a new hovzing & Baggs laced 10 

1 Old Ditto 3.0 

2 pillow Casis . 15 

1 Old Sheet 0.5 

1 old Silver Headed Kane 0.5.0 

2 Night Govnds 4.0.0 



i 






[Chap. VII 


0. 


10. 







0. 


5. 





13.10.10 


4. 


10. 







4. 


0. 







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10. 







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, 0. 







1. 


. 5. 





14.10. 



0. 
10. 


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"o 



0. 
0. 
0. 






29.19. 6 

£194. 11 .10 

194. 11 . 10 



1.17. 



28. 0. 



23.10. 



11. 7. 



19. 15. 



APPEND] 


X 3 

. 15 . 


0. 9. 


0. 10. 


3. 0. 

0.5.0 


0. 1 . G 


2. 10. 


3 1.0.0 


0.5.0 


0. 10. 







ClIAP. VII] 

1 pair Jorn doggs 

3 Boxes 

2 Trunks 

Close Stoll & 2 puter panns 

Salt Box 

1 old Lanthorn 

1 press 

Sundry mugs & Small Bottels 

An old Swoard 

A Large Bottle 

Plate viz 1 Duble Bole 

1 nipp 

3 porangers 

1 C 

2 Salts 

5 Tea Spoons 

3 otlie Spoons 

& 1 C'upp weight 62 ^^ ounces 

1 Tankard 
1 Bole 

1 Salver 

2 C 

3 Large Spoons 

& 1 Tea Spoone weight 61^4 ounces 

1 Bowl 

1 Can 

1 Spone 
& 1 Water [?] weight 21 oz 

144% ounces 

Carried Forward 

Brought Forward 

Horses viz 

The young Sorill Colt 

The young Bay 

The year Roan 

the young horse 

Nobby 

Littell Rone 

Jenny 

Blind mare & Colt 

Black Horse 

The Sorrill horse 

New hors 

Robbin 

white mare 

Jocke 

Cows viz 

Mully 

Cherry 

Blossom 

Hitter 

Black Cow 



325 



15/ 



13.10. 6 



108.11 









£401. 


2. 


7 








£401. 


2. 


7 


12. 


0. 











12. 


0. 











10. 


0. 











5. 


0. 











8. 


0. 











5. 


0. 











11 


0. 











13. 


0. 











11. 


0. 











13 


0. 











8 


0. 











13 


0. 











6. 


0. 











10. 


0. 





137. 


0. 





6 


10. 







7. 


10. 











G 


10. 











2 


10. 











7 


10. 












326 



HISTORY OF CHELSEA 



tClIAP. VII 



An ox 7 . 10 . 

2 year Old Heffers 5.0.0 

Bonds viz — 

Thos Selby com? 17th NovF 172G 200 . . 

Jos Belchers Coins 19 Aprill 1727 .... 50 . . 

John Stevens & Sanil Stevens 16 Janry 1723 10 . . 
John Chamberlin & Jacob Hasy Corns 3d 

Janry 172G . 50 . . 

Ditto Dec}- 30th 1726 50 . . 

& Biintnells noat 2d Aprill 1724 30 . . 

Jos. Lewes Coin : 13 Aprill 1716 16.11. 

Jos : Belcher Senr & lunr Com : 2d May 

1727 50. 0. 

Jona Eustice Coin : 24 Nov}' 1726 25 . . 

James Hovy Coin 10 June 1723 4.0.0 

Benja Bleny Coin 1 Novr 1726 30 . . 

Thos Gyles CoiTi : 30 Aprill 1726 15 . . 

Samll Weekes Coin : 2d Janry 1726 .. . 200 . . 
Nathll Richardsons Bond Due Coiii 28 . Sept 

1721 .' 3.0.0 

Wm Maxfield note 16 augst 1726 19 . 7 . 4 

John Whitemore Com 8 Deer: 1725.... 5.0.0 

Samll Fillbrook 29 Deer 1726 1.6,0 

Saml Pratt Due 2.0.0 

John Smith feby: 1 : 1716 24 . . 

Butte Bacon 1.8.5 

Nathll Tittle Febry 21d : 1726 5.0.0 

5 Lether Cheirs @ 2/6 0. 12 . 6 

2 Turkey Ditto 0.5.0 

8 Bass bottoms @ 4/ 1 . 12 . 

2 Squair Tables . 10 . 

1 Looking Glass 4.0.0 

1 Clock 17 . 10 . 

6 mapps 2.0.0 

1 Joynt Stool 0.2.6 

Jorn Work 0.15.0 

a Desk Scale & Compas &c : In the Count- 
ing hoose . 15 . 

A Large folding Board 0.5.0 

a peuter Chamber Pott 0.2.6 

1 old flock Bead & Beding . 10 . 

Carried Ouer 

Brouglit Over 

2 Largh andjorns fire Shovell & Tongs . . 1 . 10 . 

7 old Cheirs @ 1/6 . 10 . 6 

6 Candell Sticks @ 2/ 0.12.0 

A Coffe Pott . 10 . 

a Dish and Jorne Crate and Brass flower 

Box 1.5.0 

6 Lether Buckits @ 10/ 3.0.0 

1 Bell . 10 . 

a Parrott & Cage 1.0.0 



43. 0. 



485.11. 



300. 1. 9 



27 



1 . 12. 6 
£1401 . 14. 10 
£1401 . 14. 10 



Chap. VII] 



APPENDIX 3 



327 



a Tinn gallond pott & 2 tinn funnells ... 0.5.0 

8 glasses & 2 Decanters . 13 . 

2 pr Scales & Weights 1.5.0 

5 Loves Sugar qt 40m @ 2/6 ..... .. 5 . 15 . 16 . 15 . 6 

3 old mapps @ 1/ 0.3.0 

4 Cheires @ 2/6 1 bed Stid & Cord 7/6 . . . 17 . 6 

2 windo Curtings & Barr Board 0.10.0 

an Old Bible . 10 . 

the proe [Province] Law Book 1.0.0 

65 Small Books most in 4o & Lesa .... 5.0.0 

56 Stiched Books 1.8.0 

10 Bound Books ....,..'.....- 1 . 10 . 

1 lorn Scillett 0.4.0 

1 Cane 0.6.0 

36 go? Rum @ 5/ 9 . 10 . 

36 gos Medara @ 5/ . . 9 . 10 . 30 . 8 . 6 

11 Do Spiritts @ 8/ ,. . . . 4.8.0 

8 DoCanary @ 7/ 2 . 16 . 

17 Do Brandy @ 10/ 8 . 10 . 

20 gos Medary @ 4/6 4 . 10 . 

22 gos Rum @ 5/ 5 . 10 . 

7 Emty Cask @ 4/ 1.8.0 

21 bbs Syder in 6 Larg Cask 12 . 12 . 

H<1 appells 1 . 10 . 

40 gos Bear 2.5.0 

1 lot) : Carratts & parcell sope . 15 . 44-4-0 

17 Emty Cask & 1 funell @ 4/ 3 . 12 . 

a Sadell & Bridell 5.0.0 

an old Gunn 0.5.0 

16 bushells Oats 16 Do Bran & Sundry old 

Brass things 1 . 10 . 

Sundry old Rubbage 2.0.0 

A Copper & Coller 10 . . 

1 Doz paty pans & 3 tinn Covers .... 0.10.0 22 . 17 . — 

176 pound puter @ 2/ 17 . 12 . 

75 Do Brass @ 2/ 7 . 10 . 

a frying pan Crow Spade Driping pann 

Spitts 2 . 10 . 

1 hand Saw Seven plow jorns & how ... . 10 . 
1 pr handjorns Tramells Crane Tongs & 

Shovell 5.0.0 

1 lack &c lorn pott 3.0.0 

5 Old Chairs 0.5.0 

2 old Tables 0.5.0 36 . 12 . -r, 

Carried forward £1552" 11 

Brought Forward 1552 "11 

1 pair Belloss 0.2.6 

3 hhds Rum qt 300 go? @ 75 . . 

3 Do Molasses qt 200 go? @ 25 . . 

1 box pips about %d full 16 gross @ 4/6 . 3 . 12 . 

5 Emty Cask T . . . . 10 . 

92 muggs @ lOd 3 . 17 . 



10 
10 



328 



HISTORY OF CHELSEA 



[Chap. VII 



1G4 Glasses @6 4.1.0 

4% Imndred Jamaco Sugar @ 72/6 .... 17.4.4 

4 Sides Lether 3.0.0 132 . 6 . 10 

1 quentell fish . 10 . 

14 horse fetters @ 9d . 10 . 6 

3 gollands Trayn Oyle 0.7.6 

20 hh<?s Salt 20 . . 

2 hackny Collashis 18.0.0 

1 Sliayes 30 . . 

1 pair Old Truck Wheales . 10 . 

38 plank 50 feet Each 196 Boards 25 feet 

Each is 7125 feet @ 70/ 21 . 7 . 6 

4 Emty Cask 1.5.0 92 . 10 . 6 

6 Ditto — @ 6/ 1 . 16 . 

12 old Sadels & Bridells & 2 pilions ... 17 . . 

1 Boar Stagg 1 . 15 . 

3 fatt Hoggs 12. 0. 

1 Emty Cask — 2 — 

1 Cart & slead @ 7.0.0 

5 Slipes [?] 4. 0. 

2 Sows & 1 pigg 5.0.0 

1 Draft chane yoaks &e ... 2. 0. 50.13.— 

1 Lader — 10 — 

3 Rakes & 2 forkea — 4 — 

1 Beam Tryangell & weights 2.0.0 

1 old Collash 8.0.0 

10 bushalls Sand — 5 — 

an old Box jorn — 5 — 

a Axes a Betle & weges . 15 . 

a Cask & Whelbarrow 0.10.0 

a Grind Stone & 2 Sythes ........ 2.0.0 

a Parsell old Iron & Sider Stone 3.5.0 

12^2 Load Salt hay in the marsh 19 ■ 15 . 37 . 9 . — 

English liay 1 mow . 20 feet Long 28 wide 

& 12 Deep 60 . . 

1 Ditto the Same Demenshons ........ 60 . . 

4 Ld English hay on the Loft 20 . . 

1 mow 19 feet one way 17 the other 12 Deep 

half Salt 36. 0. 

1 mow 10 feet one way 26 tlie other & 10 

Deep all Salt 8.5.0 

parcoll Stacke Salt hay Load 9.0.0 

tlie negro boye lupeter 60 . . 

Inden Moll 40 . . 

Phillis a negro Garll 70 . . 

Jenny anotlier 70 . . 

Prymus a negro man 100. 0. 533 .5.0 

Carried Ouer £2.398 . 16 . 2 

Brought Over £2398 . 16 . 2 

1 Brass Pott 121T) 1.4.0 

2 mares & 2 Coalts 12 . . 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 3 329 

1 Beadqt G3n>) . „„, ^ „, i, . a 

1 Do— -49 ;»^ 1121 @ 2/ , 11. 4. 

1 pr Blankets & 2 Ruggs . . 

1 Bead Stid 

1 Bead qt 691 @ 2/6 . ... . 

1 Rugg 5/ 1 Beadstid 3/ . . 

1 Quilt & Blanket 

1 Bead qt 481 @ /2/G . . . 

1 Bead Stid 

3 hides qt 2631 @ 3d . . . . 

12 Doz quart Bottle Clarratt 

Cash 

one Feirey Boat & halfe @ . 

15401 beeff @ Sd 



5. 




0. 
16. 
12. 




6 


38 

332. 
90. 
19. 

£2878 


16 

1. 

0. 
5. 
18. 




8. 


(^ 






0. 

2. 


8. 
0. 
0. 
5. 
5. 
0. 
2. 






9 

6 




6. 




1 . 




3. 




6. 

313. 


3 


















11 


Jacob Royale 
Robert Temple 
Wra Browne Junr 









Suffolk ss : By the Hon^'^ Samuel Sewall Esq I. of pro : &c Ann 
Watts & Samuel Watts Admin''! presented the foregoing and made 
oath, that it contains a true and perfect Jnventory of the Estate 
of Edward Watts late of Boston Gentleman deceased Jntestate so 
far as hath come to their knowledge, and that if more hereafter 
appear they will cause it to be added The three Subscribing 
Apprizers having been first Sworn as the Law directs 

Sanil Sewall. 
Boston June 17th 1728. 

Will of Eebecca Watts 

IN THE NAME OF GOD AMEN this Sixteenth day of March 
Anno Domini 1714 Annoq E E^. Georgij primo J Eebecca Watts 
of Winnissimet within the Township of Boston in the County of 
Suffolk in New England Widow of Edward Watts late of the same 
place husbandman deceased, Calling to mind the certainty of 
Death, and the uncertainty of the time when God shall call me 
hence and being Apprehensive of my near Approaching Dissolu- 
tion being of sound disposing Mind tho on my sick bed, Do Pub- 
lish and Declare these presents to be and Contain my last Will and 
Testament Viz*. — 

PrincipaUy J resign my precious Soul into the hands of Al- 
mighty God my Creator hoping to receive the Pardon of my Sins, 
and to Obtain Justification to Eternal life thro the Meritorious 
Kighteousness Death and passion and prevailing Jntercession of 



330 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

my Lord and only Saviour and Dear Eedeemer Christ Jesus And 
my Body J Desire may be decently Jnterred at the discretion 
of my Executors hereaftcrnamcd And as for my Temporal Estate 
(after my just Debts and Funeral Expcnces are paid and Dis- 
charged) J Give Devise and Dispose thereof as follows That is to 
say — Imprimis J Give to my Loving Daughter Kebecca Watts 
and the Children of her Body forever the sum of two hundred 
pounds in Province Bills, or Silver Equivalent to be paid to her, 
when and so soon as my Debts are paid, or within three years after 
my decease at furthest, And in Case She dyes without issue, or 
the Child or children that Survive her depart this life before they 
Attain to full age or be ]\Iarryed J Will that the s**. sum be equally 
divided between my sons Edward Daniel & Samuel Watts, J also 
give my said Daughter my best silk gown Jtem Jf my Nephew 
Thomas Cooper and my Niece Mary Cooper come to New England 
according to my Express Desire Signifyed to them in Writing at 
any time within two years after my decease J give to each of 
them Twenty pounds in Province Bills or Current money with the 
Merchant And my Will is that from and after their arrival here 
he the said Thomas Cooper shall be Educated and brought up at 
the charge of my Estate till he be fourteen years old And the 
said Mary Cooper till she arrive to full age or be Marryed But 
if they do not come over to New England Then J Give them 
twenty pounds sterling money of Great Britain apeice to be paid 
them when they severally Attain to full age. And in Case they 
come to New England within the above limited time J will my 
Executors hereafternamed to pay their passage and all other neces- 
sar}' charges and Expences. Jtem J Give to the said Thomas and 
Mary Cooper a Gold ring a peice J also give to the said Mary 
All my Wearing Apparel Except my Gown before disposed to my 
Daughter Jtem J Give to my Grandson John Turner Fifty 
pounds New England money or Bills of Credit Jtem J Give to 
my Uncle Robert Smith five pounds Sterling money of Great 
Britain Jtem J Give to my son Daniel Watts my Wedding Ping 
and silver box — Item All the rest and residue of my Estate both 
Peal and personal wheresoever the same is lying or may be found 
J Give and Devise as follows, Viz*^: One half thereof unto my 
Eldest Son Edward Watts aforenamed To have hold and Enjoy 
the same to him his heirs and Assigns Forever he or they Releasing 
and forever quitting all his claim Interest or Inheritance of in or 
to all such housing Lands Tenem*^. or Peal Estate which my said 
husband Edward Watts together with me Sold and Conveyed unto 
Capt Andrew Belcher and M"". Joseph Hiller Tinplateworker for 
a good and valuable Consideration by them paid to my said hus- 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 3 331 

band J being Earnestly desirous that they should quietly have and 
Enjoy forever what they so honestly purchased and paid for. — 
Jtem The remaining half part of my s^. Estate J give Devise and 
bequeath unto my said Sons Samuel and Daniel Watts their heirs 
and Assigns forever Further my Will is that if the said Edward 
Watts do not see cause to dwell upon and Jmprove the Ferry farm 
so called now in my possession near the ferry That my Son Samuel 
shall have liberty if he pleases to hire the same paying as much 
for the Kent thereof as another Person will, or as is usual — And 
J also Will that my Son Daniel shall be Educated and maintained 
by my Executors out of my Estate till he shall arrive to lawful 
Age Lastly J do hereby nominate and appoint my Worthy Friend 
the abovenamed Joseph Hiller and my said Son Edward Watts 
Executors of this my last Will and Testament revoking and mak- 
ing Jneffectual all Former Wills by me made Jn Testimony 
whereof J have hereunto put my hand and Seal the day and year 
first withinwritten Eebecca K Watts her mark and a Seal 
Signed sealed published and Declared by the said Eebecca Watts 
to be her last Will and Testament in presence^ of Samuel Bill 
Joseph Brightman Mary Davies — Exa^. ^ P: Dudley Eeg"".^ 

AETICLES TEIPAETITE of Agreement Division & Parti- 
tion Jndented & made the Twenty fifth day of June Anno Dom 
One Thousand Seven hundred & Twenty eight Between Daniel 
Watts of Winnissimet in the Township of Boston in the County 
of Suffolk in New England yeoman of the First part Samuel 
Watts of Winnessimet in the Township of Boston aforesaid yeo- 
man on the Second part & Thomas Greaves of Charlestown in the 
County of Middlesex in New England Esq^. & Anne his wife on 
the third part Witnesseth that whereas the s^. partys are justly 
ErTtituled to and hold together & undivided three Several Farms 
or Tracts of Land Situate lying & being in Winnisimet aforesaid 
viz*. One Farm or Tract of Land with the buildings thereon con- 
taining by Estimation One hundred & Sixty Acres more or less 
late in the possession of John Center now in the Occupation of 
the s^. Dan'. Watts & John Whittemore One other Farm or Tract 
of Land Contains by Estimation Two hundred and Twenty Acres 
more or less comonly called the Ferry farm late in the possession 
of Edward Watts former Husband of the said Anne & now Jm- 
proved by the said Thomas Greaves & Anne his wife the other 
Farm or Tract of Land Contains by Estimation three hundred 
Acres more or less & was lately in the Occupation of the said 

» Probated April 15, 1715. SufT. Prob. Rec, L. 18, f. 457. 



332 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

Abraham Townsend but is now in the possession of the said Sam* 
Watts And forasmuch as the &^. party s to these presents with their 
whole & full Consent & Agreement have made Partition and 
Division between them of their just Shares Jnterests & Dividend 
of in & to the s^. Three Farms with the Buildings thereon Stand- 
ing in such Manner as is hereafter expressed whereupon it is 
mutually agreed by i& between the s**. parties to these presents in 
manner & form following that is to say — Imprimis that the s^. 
Daniel Watts shall & may henceforth and forever hereafter by 
force and virtue of these presents quietly & peaceably have hold 
use occupie possess & Enjoy to him his heirs & Assigns forever 
as a free Estate of Inheritance in severalty in full Satisfaction 
of his one third part Share & Dividend of the three Farms above- 
mentioned the afores*^. farm Containing One hundred & Sixty 
Acres more or less Together with all the Dwelling house Barn Out- 
houses Fences trees woods Underwoods waters Watercourses profits 
priviledges & Appur*^^^. thereto belonging or in any wise apper- 
taining To have and to hold the s*^. One hundred & Sixty Acres 
of Land more or less with the buildings thereon profits Members 
and Appur^^^. unto him the s^. Daniel Watts his heirs & Assigns 
forever to his & their only sole & proper use benefit & behoof from 
henceforth and Forevermore absolutely in Severalty as afores^. 
without the least lett Suit Trouble denial Molestation Eviction 
Ejection Jnterruption claim or demand of the said Samuel Watts 
Thomas Greaves & Anne his wife or any or Either of them their 
or either or any of their heirs or Assigns or any other persons 
whomsoever by their Means Act Consent privity or procurement 
in any manner or wise — 

Secondly That the s*^. Samuel Watts shall & may henceforthe 
forever hereafter by force and Virtue of these presents quietly and 
peaceably have hold use occupie possess & Enjoy to him his heirs 
& Assigns forever as a free Estate of Jnheritance in Severalty 
in full Satisfaction of his one full third part Share & Dividend 
of & in the aforementioned three farms of Land & premises all 
the aforesaid Farm or Tract of Land called Ferry farm Contain- 
ing by Estimation Two hundred & Twenty Acres more or less 
Together with the Dwelling house Bams fences trees Wells pump 
Waters Watercourses Members & Appur^^^: thereto belopging and 
also the sole priviledge benefit & Advantage of keeping the ferry 
called Winnessifn'et ferry & all other priviledges thereto apper- 
taining To have and to hold the s^. farm called Ferry farm with 
all the buildings profits priviledges & Appur^^^: thereunto belong- 
ing unto the said Samuel Watts his heirs and Assigns forever, to 
his & their only sole & proper use benefit & behoof from hence- 



I 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 3 333 

forth & forevermore absolutely in Severalty as afores^. Without 
the least lett Suit Trouble Denial Molestation Eviction Ejection 
Jnterruption Claim or demand of the said Daniel Watts Thomas 
Greaves & Anne his wife or any or Either of them their or Either 
of their heirs or Assigns or of any other persons whatsoever by 
their Means Act Consent title Privity or procurement in any 
wise — 

Thirdly That the said Thomas Greaves and Anne his wife Shall 
& may henceforth & forever hereafter by force & virtue of these 
presents quietly and peaceably have hold use occupie possess & 
Enjoy to them their heirs & Assigns respectively forever as a free 
Estate of Jnheritance in Severalty in full Satisfaction of their one 
full third part Share & Dividend of & in the three farms afore- 
mentioned the remaining farm or Tract of Land containing by 
Estimation Three hundred Acres be the same more or less lately 
Improved by Abraham Townsend and now in the possession of the 
said Samuel Watts Together with all the Dwelling house Bams 
fences Trees Woods Underwoods profits priviledges ponds Waters 
Watercourses Members & Appur*^*^®. thereto belonging or in any 
wise appertaining To have and to hold the said Farm or Tract of 
Land containing Three hundred Acres more or less with the 
buildings fences profits priviledges & Appur*^^^ thereto belonging 
unto the s*^. Tho®. Greaves & Anne his wife their heirs & Assigns 
respectively forever to their only sole & proper use benefit & 
behoof from henceforth & forevermore absolutely in Severalty as 
•aforesaid without the least lett suit trouble denyall Molestation 
Eviction Ejection Jnterruption claim or demand of them the said 
Daniel Watts & Samuel Watts or Either of them their or Either 
of their heirs or Assigns or of any other person or persons whom- 
soever by their or any of their Means Act Consent Title Jnterest 
privity or procurement in any manner or wise In Witness whereof 
the said partys to these presents have hereunto Eespectively set 
their hands & Seals the day & year first herein beforewritten Tho^. 
Greaves & a seal Anne Greaves & a seal Sam'. Watts & a seal 
Daniel Watts & a seal Signed Sealed & Delivered in presence of 
us John Muzey Thomas Brintnall Suffolk ss. Boston Sepf. 19 : 
1728 Uess^^. Daniel Watts Samuel Watts Thomas Greaves Esq"". 
& Anne his wife acknowledged the aforewritten Jnstrument to be 
their Act & Deed before me Edw^. Hutchinson J Pacis Nov"^. 9 : 
1728. Received & accordingly Entred & Examined — 
p John Ballantine Ecg^."^ 

' Sulf. Deeds, L. 42, f. 297. 



334 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 



APPENDIX 4 

Letters of John Tudor * 

Boston August 17 - 1773 
Sir 

Yesterday I had a view, & a Conversation with M"" "Watts 
aboute the House in which his late Father lived; We parted with 
this, that, boath woul think of it 

I have thought of, the first purchas £1750 

To fencing all round & painting ditto 500 

To painting the House, only outeside 150 

To Repairing do in all parts, as Shingling Nailes, Hinges, 

Silling a part &c &c 750 

To Building a Barn so as to have a Chaise house in it . . . 250 

To Digging & Stoning a Well, & pump 150 

3550 

Note, if the purcheser should Die or Breake what would it 

sell for, perhaps not more then 2000 



Sunk, or Lost 1550 



I have thought farther, the place is not fitt for a Gentleman for 
many reasons; first tis above 40 Years old, 2\^ tis very much oute 
of Eepair, Fences down or all falling to peices 3'.^ but % of an 
Acre of Land in the whole; 4'y not one frute Tree or any other 
worth a Copper, 5'y no Chaise House or Bam, nor a proper place 
to put one, 6'y 't is very uncomfertable, in hot, fowl, or Cold 
Weather, especially the last to go 3 Mills to Meeting, 7'^, difecult 
to get Fireing, Fresh Meet or Fish, all which makes it (as above) 
not fitt for a Gentleman ; But 't is pleasently Situated, but, again, 
twil take 16 if not 1800£ to put it into a decent Eepair as above — 
Tis not fitt for a Farmer or a poor man as neither can gett a 
Liveing on it; So that I think apon the whole M? Watts will 
not gett so much for it as he expects — The first I/2 hour you are 
at leasure I should be glad to discource with you apon it, which 
will oblidg 

Sir Your humble Serv^ John Tudor 

To Capt Green 

» [A. L. S.] Chamberlain MSS., ii. 161, 163. 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 4 335 

P.S. 

I think Sir tis best not to lett any person see this Calcu- 
lation, or my Objections, as it may perhaps be a damage to Mr 
Watts in the Sale of it which I would not do. You may make what 
use of it you please in discource with him apon it; But as great 
an Objection as any, is the Title 

Yrs J : T — 

2^ p,s. The Interest of 1750£ is 105£ ^ Year, now I suppose 
it has not fetch'd 14 of that since M^ Watts left it — Tis realy 
painfull to the Eyes to look at the several parts of the House, 
the Clabbords all round is perishing for want of paint, the pentis 
over the back Door all gon; Luthren Lights in a bad case; in 
short 't is endless to go throw the whole, & every Week groing 
worse; So that I have in the Calculation been Moderat as to 
Repairs — The Interest of the 3550£ is 213£ p Year; now if 
I should purchas, & lay oute as aforesaid (which is the least 
I should do) & shold not after all my Troble & Charge like to 
Live there, no person would give more then 100 — or 120£ a Year 
for it; So that I should sink 93£ a Year & 30£ at least for 
Repairs, which would be 123 for my Self or Heirs; But I must 
beg you pardon for thus takeing up your Time. 
And again Subscribe 

Y'-s, &<", J. T — 

I offerd M-- Watts 1500£ 
for it, I have since thought 
to go as far as 1750 

which is the extent for the Reasons above, — I am Courted (as I 
may [say] to take a place that is a very Genteel one at Cambridg, 
& mortgaged to me one at Bro[ ] & one on Jamaicaplaines 
at Roxbery; I never Remember so many places to sell as at pres- 
ent, but I shall be trobelsom, so no more 

Sir 

My thoughts of being your neibour is all over, M? Watts (at 
my House Yesterday) & I had a farther Conversation aboute the 
old House & Garden, But he dclin'd takeing up with my offer, 
so there 's an end of it — He propos'd Selling the Eleven Acres 
more or less adjoining at 100£ an Acre, but that he will never 
get — Mr Sprague when I was at Mr Careys the other Day told 
me, there was 360 Acres, now this 360, (with a House & other 
Buildings, worth 3 of this of Watts's), was priz'd at 15000 (& 
perhaps full high) but 't is but £41 : 13 : 4^ ^ Acre (as below) now 



336 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

what sliould make Watts's Land £58. .6. .8 ^ acre (a great deale 
more then doble) better than Careys, I confess I do not under- 
stand, In Watts's there is not a quart of Water for a Creature to 
drink all the Summer Season which must lessen the Value of the 
Land, or I am mistaken, So that I think it will never fetch what 
he thinks 

If 360 Acres Cost £15000 what shall 1 Cost 

L In the present Situation 

360)15000(41 ^jf ^Yie House, I cannot think 

~eob ^iiy one would judg it worth 

360 more then £1200 — 

^Q & for less then 1 acre 

there is 350 — 



360)4800(13 

360 which is perhaps 1550 — 

Jq^ 5, if not 10 Times more then 

~]20 ^^6r a peice sold for in 

_12 Chelsea 

240 
120 



360)1440(4 
1440 


Watts's £100 

AnsT" as above 41 . . 13 



Od's, as above 58 . . 6 . . 8 f Acre 

Pray Sir excuse my 2^ Trobleing you 
from, 

Your Hum'? Serv', 

John Tudor 
To Cap* Green. 

[Dec. 27, 1760, Samuel Watts, first of the name, conveyed the 
mansion house with its yard and garden, the whole measuring 
300 feet by 100 feet, to John Osborn, who on the same day recon- 
veyed it to the use of Samuel Watts and his wife Sarah for life, 
and then to the heirs or assigns of Samuel Watts.^ After her 
husband's death Mrs. Sarah Watts lived at Falmouth, now Port- 
land, Maine, with her daughter Mary (Oxnard), the wife of Dr. 
Edward Watts, her husband's son.^ Among the Chamberlain 
manuscripts '' is a rough draft for a lease of the southeast quarter 
of the mansion house to Benjamin Brintnall, Jr., ferryman, whose 
wife Rachel was the daughter of Samuel Watts, Jr. The lease 

' SuflF. Deeds, L. 113, f. 207. 

' Ibid., L. 174, f. 114 J Chamberlain MSS., ii. 141, 157, etc. 

* Ibid., ii. 143. 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 4 337 

included the southeast quarter of the cellar and garret, a room 
on the street floor, and the chamber over it. Brintnall also leased 
the easterly lialf of the garden, which lay north of the house, and 
the hen shed. The lease dated from September 29, 1?72, and the 
rent was £4 13s. 4:d. lawful money (£35 old tenor.) On the back is 
the endorsement that " Madam Watts died July y^ W^ : 1773 " 
and the following : 

9 months & V2 month Rent is . . 27 : 14 : 2 

Reed 13 : 10 : 

Remains due 14 : 4 : 2 ' 

Carying goods out 

Evidently this reckoning was in old tenor. October 7, 1772, Mrs. 
Sarah Watts writes to Captain Green that Mrs. Hough wishes to 
rent one fourth of the house and wishes " the Eoom I usually keep 
in" with the chamber above, and a part of the cellar and the 
garret. If Benjamin Brintnall, to whom she has agreed to rent 
those rooms, will accept any other part of the house, Mrs. Hough 
may have them for £27 old tenor, no part of the garden being 
included.^] 

' Chamberlain MSS., ii. 141, 157; iiifra, p. 360. 



VOL. I. — 22 



338 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 



APPENDIX 5 

The Watts Family 

Samuel "Watts, owner of one third of modem Chelsea, as also 
of the ferry, inn-holder, merchant, ruling elder of the church, 
and justice of the peace, was the most conspicuous citizen of 
Chelsea in his day, and, therefore, I make an article of his family.^ 

He was the second son of Edward and Eebecca Watts, sister of 
Elizabeth Savage, by whose marriage settlement with Samuel Bel- 
lingham the estates of his father, at Winnisimmet, passed into the 
Watts family.^ 

He represented Chelsea in the General Court, 1739-1742. In 
1741 he was elected Speaker of the House, but negatived by 
Governor Belcher. He was a Director of the Land Bank ; * in 
the Governor's Council, 1742-1763. In 1745 and, again, in 1751, 
he was at the head of the Directors, such as John Quincy, James 
Bowdoin, and Thomas Hutchinson, to manage the " Massachusetts 
Government Lotterj^," to provide both for the cost of protecting 
the frontier against the French, and for military and other ex- 
penses; and again, in 1758, for the cost of the expedition against 
Canada.* Meantime, in 1747-8, when Thomas Hutchinson pre- 
sented his famous memorial to the General Court for applying 
the specie by which the British government reimbursed the prov- 
ince for her expenses in the taking of Louisburg, to the redemption 
of the outstanding depreciated paper money, Hutchinson's pro- 
posal was referred to a joint committee, of which Watts was a 

* His death is recorded as, on March 5, 1770, in the to^Ti records, 
but, as on the 9th, in the Church Records, aged 72; Elizabeth Belling- 
hani mentions him in her will of [November] 1097. I have not found the 
place of his burial. [The Boston Evening Post for IMonday, March 12, 
1770, has the following notice: " Last Monday Evening, died at his Seat in 
Chelsea, and on Friday following was decently interred in this Town, the 
Honorable Samuel Watts, Esq; formerly one of his Majesty's Council for 
this Province, and for many Years past one of the Judges of the Court of 
Common Pleas for this County."] 

* [For the family genealogy see infra, p. 353.] 

° See Provincial Banks: Land and Silver, by Andrew McFarland 
Davis, 2G. 

* Mass. Acts and Resolves, iii. 195, 539; iv. 88. 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 5 339 

member from the Covmcil.^ In 1749 the General Court grappled 
with the question, " How to improve the natural advantages of 
soil and climate, and to improve the Fishery." Samuel Watts was 
joined with Sir William Pepperrell, Thomas Hutchinson, and 
others to consider and report.** 

Samuel Watts married, at about 18, Elizabeth Shute, aged about 
17, Hannah Hough was his second wife. At Chelsea, April 10, 
1756, was recorded an intention of marriage between " The hon'ble 
Samuel Watts, Esqr., and Mrs. Sarah Oxnard, of Boston." I 
think she was the widow of Thomas Oxnard,'^ a man of estate, who 
left children, Thomas, Edward, and Mary, who married Dr. 
Edward, son of Hon. Samuel Watts. He lived at Falmouth, 
Maine, and with him, his wife's mother, the widow of his own 
father, passed her last years. 

Of Samuel Watts, between his mother's death in 1715 and 1728, 
I find little. As a farmer his life was narrow; but when he took 
the Ferry estate it became varied and public. Winnisimmet, on 
the most direct line of travel with the east by land, was most 
eligible for soldiers in war, and for men of business, or those 
engaged in public affairs, in peace. It may have had trade from 
the neighboring country, including Noddle's Island.® Presumably 
Edward Watts continued business at the ferry until his death, in 
1727. On the division of the Watts estates, in 1728, Samuel relin- 
quished his sole occupation as a farmer, and assumed those of his 
brother at the ferry. In 1729 he bought of Abigail Thomas, for 
110 pounds, "a Negro woman Named Qushaby, and her Child 
Named Venus, with their wearing apparrill," ^ perhaps to serv^ 

" Mass. Acts and Resolves, iii. 454, 456. 

' For other services, see ibid., iii. 559, 743, 817, 941, 958, 1056, and 
1061; and iv. 320, 338, 378, 431, 449, 630, and 791. 
' [Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 60, f. 220.] 

* A rough draft of a bill shows that Edward Watts, the younger, kept 
a grocery at Winnisimmet, in connection with the ferry, as early as 1716. 
Chamberlain MSS., i. 117. 

Mr Channing, Dr. to E. Watts, vizt. : 

£ s. d. 

1715. To a Bill Carryed in 02 15 00 

Mar. 3. To Cash Lent 05 00 00 

1716, May 22. To Ferrage of Mr : Antrams horse . 02 
June 7. To 1 Wtt : of Sugar 01 16 

Aug. 30. To 1 Quart of Brandy 00 04 2 

To 2 horses, Mr Morphell 00 12 

7br 10. To 2 :% Gall of rum 00 13 9 

19. To a horse to Hampton 00 10 

* Chamberlain IMSS., 1. 129. 



340 HISTORY OK CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

in his newly acquired inn. From time to time he purchased lands, 
and before 1739 one half of the mill, in Revere, on or near the site 
of Slade's Mill. As has been said, public affairs came to engage his 
attention, and his situation was favorable for his advancement. 

The site of his mansion was the most beautiful in the upper 
bay. On a bluff twenty or thirty feet above high water, rounding 
boldly and gracefully to the sea, as some now living recollect it, 
before it was razed and cast into the water, and looking southward 
towards the sun, it commanded a view of Dorchester Heights, 
across the bay; and on the left was Eagle Cliff, the highest point 
of Noddle's Island; and on the right was Moulton's Point in 
Charlestown; and beyond were the imperial hills of Boston. Here, 
about 1730, he built a mansion house, recollected by some living 
as a good specimen of colonial architecture, now removed to Tre- 
mont Street, and divided into tenement houses. Not far away 
were the great barns, a blacksmith-shop, the inn, a trade house, 
and the buildings connected with the ferry. It was the felicity 
of this position that many not only passed by it, but many also 
tarried at it, — men whose acquaintance, thus formed, promoted 
the political advancement of Samuel Watts. 

In 1734, at the age of thirty-six he was justice of the peace, an 
office of more consequence than now, and rarely conferred save for 
merit. From 1742 to 1763 he was Councillor; and Judge of the 
Court of Common Pleas from April 6, 1748, to his death in 1770. 
In 1746 he was connected with the army, and commissioned as 
muster-master of the force raised for an expedition against 
Canada. In 1752 he was commissioner, with Thomas Hubbard 
and Chambers Russell, to treat with the Eastern Indians. Besides 
these varied duties he managed the ferry, and, like some other 
eminent men of his, and even of a later day, such as General 
Israel Putnam, he kept a tavern, to which was added trade, black- 
smithing, and farming.^" 

Besides his regular occupations Samuel Watts was a Director 
of the Land Bank. This, a revival of a scheme originating some 
years before, was opposed by Governor Belcher, who characterized 

" A Day-Book, apparently in liis band, from April, 1742. to April, 1740, 
indicates tliat he gave his personal attention to all these matters; hut, 
from the papers of Captain Riohard Watts, his second son, it appears that, 
from 1746, and perhaps a little earlier, Richard was manaejer of the hii-i- 
ness which liad grown up about the ferry. I have selected, infra, p. 348, 
from his Day Book some items which give the names of a few of the 
public characters who frequented his inn; and also show the varied 
activities and modes of life of the little community at Winnisimmet, of 
which Samuel Watts was the leading man. See W^ashburn, Judicial Hist. 
of Mass., 328. 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 5 341 

it as "a thing so full of fraud & of all other mischiefs that the 
nature of it will admit of." ^^ As a plan to make cheap money 
it was the prototype of that brought forward 150 years later by 
the Populists. It divided the people into parties, one of which 
was in favor of coin, and the other of a paper currency, based on 
farm products and manufactures of the province. It was on 
this issue that Samuel Watts was elected Speaker of the House, 
and his election was negatived by Governor Belcher. Neverthe- 
less the plan was supported, as the Governor wrote to the Lords of 
the Admiralty, by " a great number of the merchants and gentle- 
men of the best substance." ^- They proposed to emit £150,000 
in bills loanable on the securities as named above. This was very 
popular with the farmers, who thus found money very plentiful, 
Ijut, in the end, very costly; for, by accepting loans, they became 
partners in the Bank, and on its failure, individually liable for 
its outstanding bills.^'' 

^ Belcher Papers, ii. 3G3, and Hutchinson, Hist. (ed. 1795), ii. 189, 353. 

" Belcher Papers, ii. 368. 

" This matter is very fully treated by Andrew McF. Davis, vide Publi- 
cations of the Col. Soc. of Mass., iii. 2-40; but the nature of the trans- 
action is best shown by a single example, of which Chelsea afforded many: 
Benjamin and Sarah Floyd, in consideration of £200, in Bills of Credit, 
called Manufactory Bills, received of Robert Auchmuty, Samuel Adams, 
\A"ilIiam Stoddard, Peter Chardon, Samuel Watts, George Leonard, Robert 
Hale, John Choate, and Thomas Cheever, Directors of the Manufactory 
Company (so called), by the said Benjamin Floyd, for his share, as a 
Partner in said Company, do give, grant, etc. [The land west of B. H. 
Dewing's estate (1874) on both sides of Maiden Street.] Provided, the 
said Floyd shall pay, at the expiration of every year, for twenty years, 
five in the 100, of the principal sum now received, and three per cent, 
interest in Manufactory Bills, as aforesaid, or in merchantable Hemp, 
Flax, Cordage, Bar Iron, Cast Iron, Linnens, Copper, Tan'd Leather, Flax. 
Seed, Bee's Wax, Bayberry Wax, Sail Cloth, Canvas, Nails, Tallow, 
Lumber, Vizt., Shingles, Staves, Hoops, White Pine Boards, White Oak 
Plank, White Oak Boards, and Ship Timber, Barrel Beef, Barrel Pork, 
Oil, Whale Bone, or. Cord Wood, of the manufactures, or produce, of the 
Province, aforesaid. Logwood, at such prices, as the Directors shall judge 
they pass for, or, in lawful money, at six shillings and eight pence, per 
ounce, with one per cent advance, thereon, at the respective times of 
pavmcnt, then this deed to be void, etc., Sept. 9, 1740. Suff. Deeds, L. GO, 
f. "2.-). 

Similar mortgages in Chelsea were made by Edward Tuttle, Thomas 
Pratt, John Brintnall, Nathan Cheever, Benj. Brintnall, Isaac Lewis, 
Samuel Watts, John Chamberlain, Jonathan Belcher, Samuel Floyd, 
Benj. Blaney, Joseph Hasey, Hugh Floyd, John Floyd, Daniel Watts, 
Saniuel Pratt, William Hasey, ami, perhaps, others. 

.As predicted by the best business men of the day, and predestinated 
by financial laws, the Land Bank [came to a disastrous end by act of 
Parliament] ; and this brought trouble to the partners. October, 1743, 



342 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

After a long and honorable life Samuel Watts died March 5, 
1770. His business interests were numerous and varied, re- 
quiring for their successful management more exclusive and con- 
stant attention than his public duties allowed. As a result his 
affairs on his death were found to be in disorder, aggravated by 
a custom of those days of allowing mutual accounts to run for 
years without settlement." 

an act was passed for the more speedy finishing of the Land Bank, or 
Manufactory Scheme, providing for the appointment of commissioners 
to adjust its afTairs, and to assess its partners their several shares for 
the redemption of its hills. 

In their report appear the names of several citizens of Chelsea, with 
the sums for wliich tliey were severally liable: Samuel Watts, £20; Jona- 
than Belcher, £3 ; Samuel Pratt, £2 ; Edw. Tuttle, £4 ; John Chamberlain, 
£4; John Brentnall, £4; Samuel Floyd, £2; Nathan Cheever, £4; Benja- 
min Brintnall, £4; [Benjamin Floyd, £8; Hugh Floyd, £18; .John Floyd, 
£3; Daniel Watts, £8; William Hasey, £4; Thomas Pratt, £G ; Benjamin 
Blaney of Maiden, £4; Isaac Lewis, £G.] 

These assessments were complained of for many years ; and Samiiel 
Adams, the patriot, was more truculent than honest in resisting tiie sale 
of his patrimonial estate for the payment of the just claims of those who 
held the bills of the Land Bank Company. 

The last 1 find of Samuel Watts's conection with the bank is as follows : 

Land Bank, Dr., to Samuel Watts. 

1741. To my Sallery £150 

1742. To, ditto, for M> year 75 

1745. To cash pd in 20 

1749. To Ditto 33 

278 ■ 

the Inter., 278£, 2G years 433 13 2 

1763 pd. in 87 10 

Interest, 3 yrs 15 15 

8l4 is 2 

7V2. 

5704 7 2 

407 9 1 

Due me, Sept., 1766 6lTI 16 3 

S. WATTS. 
The last I find is this: 

1769. Bro't from the Beginning of this Book . . £6111 : 16 3 

To 3 yeares Interest, of tlie above ... 36G 14 01 

In The Boston Gazette, August 21, 1744, is printed an act supplementary 
to " An Act for the more speedy finisliing of the Land Bank," with a list 
o^ some delinquent in their dues, witli tiie amount of each. A list of the 
partners in the Land Bank (perhaps complete) is in the Evening Post 
(Supplement, No. 543), 1745. The settlement of the bank lasted many 
years; and I have an original execution issued against one of the bor- 
rowers, dated September, 1764. ISIoro about the Land Bank is in Acts and 
Resolves (Goodell's ed.), iii. Index. 

" An example of this is given infra, p. ,149. 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 5 343 

The division of Samuel Watts's estate among his eight children 
and their legal representatives is in the Probate Office.^^ Its 
extreme length allows nothing more here than a general statement 
of its purport. It was divided into portions, severally assigned to 
those entitled at an estimated valuation ; these were to be equalized 
by assessments on those whose allotments of the realty exceeded 
their just proportion. To Samuel Watts/" as the eldest son, was 
set off a double share, consisting of the mansion house with three- 
fourths of an acre of land, the small dwelling-house, where 
William Watts lived, with the corn house, the dwelling-house, 
where the tavern was kept, [two ferry boats] and the ferry, [the 
new barn, the west end of the old barn, the chaise house, an old 
blacksmith's shop, about 138 acres in Chelsea and 400 acres in 
Eoyalston], all valued at £1763 18 4. 

To Ann Hough, his second daughter, the house in -which she 
lived, near the mansion house, with 8 acres of land, adjacent, [the 
"warehouse near the tavern, the east end of the great barn, twelve 
acres of pasture] and 12 acres of marsh, [200 acres in Eoyalston 
and one-fourth of a wall pew in Chelsea meetinghouse between the 
pews of Deacon John Sale and Captain Jonathan Green.] all 
valued at £374 6 8. 

To Edward AYatts was assigned (and greatly to his dissatis- 
faction ; for he desired the Ferry estate) I/2 of the Daniel AVatts 
estate [200 acres in Eoj-alston, and one fourth of a pew], valued 
at £564 6 8. 

To Hannah Danforth, wife of Dr. Samuel Danforth, 14 of the 
Daniel Watts estate, [etc.] valued at £564 6 8. 

To the representatives of Bellingham Watts the westerly half 
of the Jacob Chamberlain estate (formerly, the Jonathan Tuttle, 
now the Harris estate, in Eevere) [three and one-half acres of 
salt-marsh belonging formerly to the Hasey farm, about 200 acres 
in Eovalston, and one-fourth of a pew in Chelsea meeting-house] 
valued at £142 13 11. 

[To William Watts the other half of the above estate one-half 
of the grist mill in Chelsea, one-fourth of a pew, about 200 acres 
in Eoyalston, vnlued at £489 . 14.] 

To Elizabeth Kent, wife of Benjamin Kent, land in Boston and 
Eoyalston, valued at £51 19. 

To the representatives of Eichard Watts land in Eoyalston, 
valued at £45 6 00. 

" L. 71, f. .39,5. 

'' Samuel Watts was a most respectable man. He was honored by his 
fellow-eitizcns with many municipal trusts, M'liich he discharged with 
ability and fidelity, and was chosen to represent them in more public and 
responsible stations. 



344 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. \^I 

Total valuation of the real estate, £4,293 11 3. Appraisers, 
John Dexter, Thomas Pratt, and Samuel Sprague, May 15, 1772. 

Among Samuel Watts' personal effects were Negro Charles, 
with apparel, £33 6 8; Cato, 20; Flora," 20; 160 ounces of 
silver, 53 8 41/2. 

" Flora may have been " that Negro woman " who was the subject of 
tlie following letter from Jonathan Green, one of the administrators of the 
estate of Samuel Watts, to Dr. Samuel Danforth, in the right of his wife, 
a daughter. 

Sir: I am not able to come to Boston to Day about Selling that Negro 
woman. I have been with Air Watts, this morning, to Get him to go 
to Boston to Daj', but he Cant but we have agreed to Sell her for 
£200 old tenor and Let whoso will be Inclined to buy Let them Come 
to us and if we Can think it Best to abate of that Sum we will Do that; 
that we think will be best for the Estate. 

yours to serve 

Jona Green 

Monday Morning Novf ye 19th 1770. 

Ps I could and would have Gon to Boston in Said afTair Last Satterday 
had I known it a Little Sooner; but I had not the news untill the Sun 
Scant half an hour high at evening and no Avind to Carry the ferry boats 
over So tiiat I Could not have Rowed my boat over & done the business 
& returned that night. Mrs Pratt Last Fryday morning promised to get 
that money for JNIis Hannah Watts that she sent for directly I hope he 
has given it to her. 
[Addressed] For Docter Samll Danforth of Boston. 

Chamberlain MSS., ii. 63. 

Jonathan Green, of Stoneham, where his family had long resided, came 
to Chelsea about 17G9, and returned to Stoneham about 178G. He appears 
to have been a cordwainer, and an able and efficient public man. He 
acquired a valuable estate in Chelsea (among others, the whole of the 
Maverick farm, now owned by the United States). While in Chelsea, he 
filled almost every office in the gift of the people, and was usually sought 
by them for making their deeds and wills, and for administering their 
estates. He, witii Samuel Watts, the younger, administered the estate of 
Hon. Samuel Watts, sometimes called Major Watts. This estate, though 
large in realty and in personalty, was much involved, and, perhaps, in- 
solvent. The administrators divided the labor, each taking and becoming 
responsible for certain " moveables." INTadam Sarah Watts, the widow, 
appears to have held property in her own right, and was a creditor of 
her husband's estate: hence, this entry in Green's account. "To I Day, 
in Reconing with INIadam Sarah Watts, & Selling to her. Several Silver 
Vessels, to pay part of the debt, due to her." Major Watts had given a 
bond to William Oliver for the reconveyance of certain land. Green spent 
a day in Boston consulting with Lawyer Adams, later better known as 
John Adams. Major Watts had given a deed of a valuable estate in 
Revere (the modern Harris farm) to his son Edward, and without con- 
sideration, as was thought. The heirs desired Mr. Green to consult with 
" Lawyer Quinsey," afterwards the famous patriot. He did so, " twise." 



CHAr. VII] APPENDIX 5 345 

The third wife of Samncl Watts was Madam Sarah Oxnard, the 
widow of Thomas Oxnard of Boston, who married her, March 10, 

Twice also he went to " Lawyer Otis," the then famous James Otis, Jr. 
To the ordinary troubles of administration of Samuel Watts' estate, were 
those which arose from the renewal of the attempt to reopen litigation 
in respect to Governor Bellingham's will, of which I give an account 
under that head. 

Jonathan Green's father, like all his neighbors who could afford it, 
purchased slaves: as witness the following: 

Boston, June ye : 7th : 1716. 

Know all men by thees presents, that I, Thomas Porter of Boston In 
Newengland Dow Sell ... a Nager man, named Dolphin for ye Sum of 
forty pounds Curant money of ye Cunter as Wittniss my hand ye Day and 
year, aboue mentioned, and have Reed : ye Ualey, for ye Same. 

THOMAS PORTER. Chamberlain MSS., v. 6. 

To Capt Jonathan Green. Sir: I do alowe of my negro man, Jack, To 
be maried To Decn Joseph Greens negro woman, Cloea, and that yo may 
Publish Them when they Desier it. 

Reading April : G : 176S. DAVID GREEN. Ihid., v. 75. 

Watts estate. An account of what the heirs take. 
Mr. Samll. Watts takes of the moveables 

Belonging to his fathers estate . . 42 : 9 : 8 : 

in old tenor is 318: 12: 6: 

Mr. Willm Watts Takes of the move- 
ables, and the Boat money «fe Great 

Bible about £13. Lm 27: 13: 4: 

In old tenor is 305. 

Mr. Ebenr. Hough takes of the move- 
ables and ferry Boat money ... 23: 16. 4. 

in old tenor is 178. 12 6 

Mrs. Eliz Kent takes of said moveables 7:10 8 3 

In old tenor is 56: 0. 6 

Capt. Richd Watts takes of said move- 
ables 7. 000 

is in old tenor 52. 10 

not all taken. 
Doer. Edwd Watts takes of sd. move- 
ables 11: 

is in old tenor 82. 10 

Doer. Samll. Danforth & his wife takes 

of sd moveables 16: 7. 4 

is in old tenor 122. 15. 0. 

Lawfull money 135: 17: 4: 3 

Total in old tenor is . . 1019: 0. 6. 0. 
then adding thereto the Rents of the 
farms & buildings & wearing ap- 

parrel at 133. 6. 8. 

in old tenor is 100: 0. 0. 0. 

So tliat the children take about £2000 o: t. Chamberlain MSB., 11. 137. 



346 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

1756.^^ For some time after [1757] they lived in the Oxnard 
house, in Boston. ^^ 

Madam Watts held a life interest in the great mansion-house, 
which after her death was set at [£145-6-8 ; the southeast quar- 
ter of the house with half the garden was leased in 1773 for] 
£4, 13, 4, L. M. She died before Sepember 3, 1773, when her will 
was proved in Suffolk County. It bears no date, and though she 
is described as of Falmouth, the witnesses were well-known Boston 
people. [She died July 16.] 

Her will indicates opulence, and contains matters of interest. 
She gives to " my eldest son," Tbomas Oxnard, £180, L. M., two 
pair of silver candlesticks, a shagreen case of knives and forks, six 
silver spoons, and " my best Diamond Eing." To her son Edward 
Oxnard, £180 L. M., and my silver coffee pot and my silver waiter 
and all my silver spoons marked T. 0. To my daughter Mary, 
wife of Doctor Edward AVatts, my gold watch, all linnen & wear- 
ing apparel, one pair of silver butter cups, my picture, hy Copley, 
and a ruby ring set with diamonds. To Mercy Basset, the sum of 
£6. To each of my sisters, Mary Turner, Katherino Sargent, and 
Mercy Osborne, 40s., L. M., and the same to Elizabeth Kent, wife 
of Benjamin Kent, to buy them a ring of remembrance. To 
my granddaughter, Sarah Watts, £25, L. M., to be put out by my 
executors, and paid to her, when of lawful age, or married; and 
I give her Iter mother s picture, done hy Copley. Tlie residue, to 
my three children, Thomas, Edward, arid IMary, e(inally. 7 give 
to my servant, Prince,'^^ his freedom from the state of slavery, and 
£4, L. M." Her sons, Thomas and Edward Oxnard, to be 
executors.-^ 

The Watts family continued a most respectable one down into 

the present century, when, as has been the case with many other 

families, the members had removed to other communities, and in 

the male line it has but few representatives in its 6ld home. 

[In response to the suggestion -- that the estate of Samuel 

" Sarah Osborne — por Boston Marriajjos. Tho name is given as Mary 
by Willis (Smith's and Deane's Journals, Portland). 

'" So I infer from an extract of a letter of Edward Watts, who married 
Mary, daughter of Madam Oxnard, who, after Samuel Watts died, was 
at Falmouth, Me. It was written to the administrator of the Watts 
estate, and dated ]\Iarch 17, 1772. "I would not omit quainting you that 
[the] two Mr. Oxnards arc going to put in a Clame against the Estate for 
my Father not paying them for the Rent of there part of the House he 
lived in while in Boston which was about four years which will be near 
£100 Sterling." Chamberlain. MSS., ii. 117. 

'" Prince Watts married Violet Hasey, July 2G, 1770. Church Records. 

" SulT. Prob. Rcc, L. 73, f. 94. 

^- Supra, p. 3-14, note. 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 5 347 

Watts may have been insolvent, the following certificate is 
given.^^ 

Suffolk ss 

Foster Hutchinson Esq. Judge of Probate &"? Certifies the 
Hon^l® His Majestys Justices of the Inferiour Court &^ That by 
the Accompts of Samuel Watts and Jonathan Green Administra- 
tor"^ of the Estate of the Hon^l Samuel Watts Esq. late of Chelsea 
in the County aforesaid deceased Intestate and a List of Debts 
remaining due it appears that the Debts will exceed the Personal 
Estate Eight hundred fifty six Pounds, seven shillings & 3^ — 
The Eeal Estate has been appraised at Four thousand six hundred 
eighty one Pounds nineteen Shillings & 4'/ 

Dated at Boston the 26? Day 
of July 1771 

F Hutchinson. 

Administrators must, if possible, satisfy all debts out of the 
personal estate of the deceased. If that was not possible, the 
court declared the estate insolvent, and empowered the adminis- 
trators to sell enough of the intestate's real estate to pay his 
debts. The above certificate accompanied a petition of Samuel 
Watts and Jonathan Green to the Court for sucli a permit. This 
is the real estate of Samuel Watts as inventoried by Thomas Pratt, 
Samuel Sprague, and William Low, February 28, 1771.^* 

1. The Farm at the Ferry with the Building thereon & the 

Privileges of the Ferry, contains about 200 Acres of 

Upland, & salt Marsh . . . . " 2133 : 6 : 8 

2. To Deacon Watts Farm, so called, Upland & Salt Marsh, 

with the Building thereon containing about, 140 Acres 800 : — : — 

3. To a Farm near Chelsea Meets house wth the Buildings 

thereon contains about 150 Acres 999 : 6 : 8 

To one half of a Grist Mill, in Chelsea GO : 13 : 4 

To Lands, lying in Royalshire, so called containing 2008 

Acres at 2/— 200 : 16 : — 

To certain Piece of Land lying in Boston measurs 100 feet 

one way, & forty the other 9 : 18 : 4 

4210 : 1 : — 
To this was added a Farm with house and barn thereon in 

Blanford, Hampshire Co £ 471 : 18 : 4 

On Xovember 22, 1771, the administrators advertised the 
following lands for sale, — about 20 acres near Chelsea meeting- 

"^ Court Files, Inf. Court of Common Pleas for SuIT. Co., July term, 
1771. 

=" Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 70, ff. 95, 98. 



348 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

liouse with a barn thereon — (formerly part of the Hasey farm) ; 
" one half oi the Two Grist Mills " in Chelsea ; " between Twenty 
& thirty Acres of Meadow, near Chelsea Beach lying within the 
Dam so Call'd''; also about thirty acres of the Island End 
Marsh "lying partly in Maiden & partly in Chelsea"; the lot 
of land in Boston (100 X 40 ft.) ; a number of lots in Eoyal- 
shire, and a farm of about 1000 acres with buildings thereon in 
l^lnnford, Hampshire. March 5, 17?2, Green wrote Dr. Edward 
Watts that they had sokl the twenty acres on the road between 
Chelsea mills and meeting-house, the Island End marsh of about 
thirty acres, and the lands in Blanford.^^ The remainder of the 
real estate was divided among the heirs.] 



Extracts from the Day Booh of Samuel \Vatts 



20 



1742, May 19. Richard Watts Dr. To a Negroe Girl, 

Named Moll £100 

June 9. Capt. Temple Dr. To ferrege to Jack . . 00 06 

Sept. 3. Peter Oliver Dr. To Horse and Chaise to 

Chelsea 00 10 00 

[Afterwards, Chief Justice Oliver: the 
journey was from the ferry to the centre 
of the town, then called Chelsea, now, 
Revere.] 
Aug. 30. Mr. Goldtlnvait Dr. To a Chaise ferrage 

to Jack 00 5 00 

Oct. 4. Mr. Joseph Merion Dr. To Horse to Pis- 

cataqua, eight Days 5 00 00 

[Joseph Marion, at one time, Secretary of 
the Province.] 
Sepr. The Manufactory Company Dr. To a horse 

to Cap ann for Mr. Killer f 1 10 00 

" Mr: Thomas Gooding Dr. To Cash pd 

towards the Slupe Two Brothers, & 

Cargo, Sept. ye 9, 1742 £125 

Octr. 27. To Ditto 60 

p. Cr By Qr., part of Said Slupe Cargo & 

out' Sets £240 . 10 . 11 

Nov. G. Benja. Blanoy Dr. To five Hides, Wt 410 . 13 17 4 

Dec. 25. Mr. Saml. Floyd, of Chelsea Dr. To cash 

paid (by his order to me by word of 

mouth ) to the late Dyrectors of the 

Manufactory Company at Boston Sepr. 

ye 17th, 1742 . . . " 47 13 

pd the Justice for Acknowlidging his dis- 
charge, 2 6 

[Of this company, and Samuel Watts' con- 
nection with it, we shall hear more.] 

» Chamberlain MSS., ii. 91, 93, 111. 

^ Chamberlain MSS. 



Chap. VII J 



APPENDIX 5 



349 



Feby. 1742/3. Manufactory Company, Dr., To cash pd. 
Collo. Pollard, for Service don the 
Company £11 14 00 

1743, Sept. Mr: John Brintnall, Cr. By Cash, twenty - 

Shillings, Manufactory Bills, for which 
I 'ni to give a receipt on tlie Back of 
his Note four pounds old tenor. 

1744. The Honble John Jeffries Esqr. Dr. To 

Cash Lent, at ye Castle to pay the 

workmen 4 

To Ditto to pay the bargemen 12 00 

Nov. 26. Mr. Lee, of Mhd [Marblehead], Dr., to a 
Horse to Mhd., and contrary to Solem 
promis, put two men on him, wc was 
seen p. Mr. Levenstone £5 00 

This year he added to his stock: 



Octr 29. Memdm; 
Island] Vizt. 



Young Cattle bought of Mr. Williams [of Noddle's. 



one Bull 

one Red Spark'd Steer with a White face. 

one Red Ditto with a White face. 

one Black Ditto with a Brown Nose. 

one Red spark'd Ditto. 

one Black Ditto. 

one Red Ditto whitefaee. 

one Red Ditto. 

one Black Spark'd Ditto. 

one Brown Ditto. 

one Red Ditto. 

one Red Sparked Ditto. 

one Red Heller 

one Red Sparkd Ditto 

one Sparked Do. 

one black Ditto. 

one Brown Ditto. 

17, all one Years and Advantage. 
1745, March 13, Thomas Hutchinson [afterwards the gov- 
ernor J, Dr. To Horse to Cape Ann . 3 5 
May 17. Danll Watts Dr. To Jack, for boating 

Hay, 30 of March last 4 6 

[His brother, owner of the Carter farm 
and marshes southerly, from which, by a 
gulch, navigable by gundalows, liay and 
other farm produce was carried by Island 
End River to the Mystic, and thence to 
Boston for exportation to the south.] 
June 3. Samll Tuttle Tanner Dr. To a Lottery 

Tickett £0 00 00 

Mr. John Rachall, Dr., To two Lotterry 

Ticketts £12. 



35a 





HISTORY OF CHKLSEA 


[CUAP. 


VII 




After Stoddard, Dr. To two Lotterry Tick- 










etts 


£12. 
f 6. 






5. 


Stephen Kent, Dr. To one Lotterry Tickett 




6. 
9. 


Capt. Bass Dr. To one " " 

Mr. Thos. Pratt Dr. To two " 

Wm. Adams, of Rowly Dr. To Horse and 
Chaise to Newbury p. order of the 
Comtee of War 

Mills at Chelsea Dr. 


£ 6. 
£12. 

£ 5 








To 320 feet of pine plank, at 32/ p hundred 


£ 5 


2 


6 




To carriing them to the Mill 





10 







To boards of Joshua Eustes for the Uper 










floor 


8 


00 






June 
Aug. 
Sept. 



To nails, 

To Mr Goddards Work. 
Oct. 4. The province of the Massathusetts-Bay, Cr. 

By 96Ib. of Tallow, at—, of Mr. Williams Cattle. 
8. By 1451b. of Tallow, and 191b. of Kidney. 

By 1731b. i/o of Tallow, and 91b. i/o of Kidney. Setteled. 
■1745/6, Feb. 7. Danll Watts, Dr. 

To 8£ Land Bank Bills Equal to £42: 11-4 old tenr. 
April 2. The Province Dr. To a Qur of Beef put on Board Capt. 
Linkhoine The Abigail and Anna p Mr. Wheel- 
wrights Order. 

Qy: 1421b, at /lO 5: 18: 4. 
April 5th, Mr Saml Adams, Esr. Dr To 78 bushels of barley. 

[This was the father of the patriot, who carried on the 

business of his father, and by the Tories was called 

" Malster Sam."] 

Samuel "Watts kept an account of his personal expenses, which 

has been preserved for 1761-1770; and as these show something 

of his and his family's life, I give several of them : 

1761, Oct. 26. Cato Bread 1: 10 

mutton 13 

rum 1 : 7 

fish 4/C Sand 2/ 6:6 

rum, one Dollar 2: 5: 

1762, Jan. 30. Samll Kent for Ticketts (No. 3, 24) . . 13: 10: 
Feb. 10. Gouldthwait for sweepg ye Chimny ... 1:1 3 

March 17. give Wife a Dollar 2 5.0 

April 10. Murrey for Shaving 2. 5 

13. Mr. Grant Upholster 4: 8: IVo 

May 8. Mr. Hawes for Saddle baggs, 4 : 10 

Two bridles 4: 00 00 

To Saddle Cloath .... 3: 10 00 

1763, Feb. 3. Bot. a wigg Box 7 

Oct. 28. Testament & Salter for Saml. Watts' 

Children 18 

1764, Aug. 15. Mr. Forster of Salem for 6 Scyths last 

year 13: 10 

Ditto for Ditto, this year 13 : 10 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 5 351 

20. Mr. Bradlely, for Shultoon ( ? ) , Ozinburgs, 
Buckram, & Buttons for Charles' 

Suit 7: 13: 11 

26. Pratt's Negroe Woman, for pegans & 

Eggs 14: 11 

1765 Jany. Negroe Prince for the House 16: 3 

Mr. Pemon, the Barbers in full .... 10: 10: 
Mr. Miller for a Book Calld the Sociall 

Compact 1: 13 9 

Mr. Jackson the Brazr for two Rat 

Trapps 2 — 

John Gore for painting Canvis .... 10: 10 
Cloth, for Keeps Room, Silas [?] Ser- 
geant in full 21:17 

Bot. a Cheese 2: 10 

May Lottery Ticket No. 2409 in Boston Lot- 
tery one 3d. for me & Hannah pd. 
one Dollar. 
1763, Nov. Estate of Saml. Watts, Esqr., Dee'd, To 
Nath. Brown, Dr., To 2 pr. Leather 
Breeches yr. Negroes £3 12 

An example of the custom of allowing accounts to run for years 
without settlement is seen in the following account,-^ which ran 
more than twenty years. It also gives some curious details of the 
expense of maintaining the family carriages. 

The Estate of ye Honle Samll Watts Deceased to Edwd Goodwin Dr. 
1750, May ye 12. To putting in a New Hind Piller & a 

four piller a New Seate & Canvaising £8 00 00 

To2 Seale Skins for ye Cheacks [?] 2 8 

To Corse Lining for ye body & Chusshing 1 

To 3 yds. of half thick to Line it 3 6 

To 2501t brass nails 1 5 

To 511 of tacks 10 

To Worke in tryming ye bodey & making ye Chussh- 
ing _3 

old tennor £19 09 

To putting in two four pillers & one hind piller a 
Seate panill & one Side paniell & laying a New 

Seate, & Canvissing it £10 

To Corse Lining for ye bodey, & Chusshing 1 00 00 

To 3 yds. of Half thick to Line it 3 6 00 

To brass nails & tacks 1 15 00 

To 1 Hide of Leather for ye Cheacks 3 00 00 

To New tryming ye Chaise & making ye Chussing . . 3 00 00 

old tennor £41 10 00 

To putting a New back Raile & molding & two Hind 
pillers & one Elbow a fore bar & a middle bar a 

~ -'' Chamberlain MSS., ii. 131. 



352 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

Seate paniell & one side paniell & Canvissing . £12 00 00 

To a New bottom board & I>eather to Hang it . . . 1 10 00 

To Corse Lining, for ye bodey & Chusshing .... 1 00 00 

To 3 yds. of half thick to Line it 3 6 00 

To 51i of tacks & TOOH of brass nails 2 19 00 

To Rivctts & brads for ye Irons 5 00 

To Leather for ye Cheaks 3 00 00 

To New tryming ye bodey & making ye Chusshing . . 3 00 00 

To painting ye 3 bodeys 3 00 00 

1751, Octr. ye 1(J. To Repairing j'our Chaise & making a 
New wing Lined with Scarlett Cloth and mend- 
ing ye back Raile brass nails & tacks 4 00 00 

old tennor £75 10 00 

1764. To 2 Riding Chayse & Harnis with Canviss tops as 

a Greed for 280 00 00 

1768, Decbr. 26. To putting in 4 fellowes & five spoaks to 

your wheels 7 

the Smith work in Repairing ye Streaks & nails . . 3 10 00 

old tennor £305 00 00 

in Lawful! money £ 48 13 04 

To 2 fellowes 2 Spoakes a Reviting ye tyer, & nails 

for it 8 00 

To putting two axelltrees 10 8 

To mending 2 wheels Iron work & nails 9 4 

Lawfull money £ 50 1 4 

Contra Cr Received by Major Watts's account 41169.1 

"~8 4 673 
April ye 8th 1772 Received of Capt. Jonathan Green 

Adminr by Cash — 8 4 6.8 

Edwd Goodwin. 

Edward Watts was of " the Parish of St. Buttolph Aldgate, in 
the city of London, sawyer." Edward and Rebecca, with their 
children, came to Winnisimmet in 1710, where they died, he, 
June 5, 1714, aged 47; and she, March 25, 1715, of the same age. 
Their grave-stones are in the Revere burial-ground. After coming 
over they managed the ferry, the inn, a grocery, and their farms, 
which had been in the charge of an agent. More may be seen 
in chap, xvi, and her will, supra, p. 329. 

They had four children : Edward, alias Bellingham, Samuel, 
Daniel, and Rebecca. Elizabeth Bellingham's will mentions a 
daughter Elizabeth, but I hear no more of her. Rebecca Watts' 
will speaks of a nephew, Thomas Cooper, and of a niece, Mary 
Cooper, in England; of a grandson, John Turner, and of an 
uncle, Robert Smith. 

Edward Watts, the younger, was married January 8, 1715/6, 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 5 353 

by Eev. Samuel Myles, rector of King's Chapel, to Ann, perhaps 
a daughter of William Antram, of Boston, whose name often 
appears in the town records in respectable connections. Edward 
and his wife conveyed to him, May 1, 1716, 19/30 of the Winni- 
simmet farms, and all their right to the ferry, for £3,000. The 
reason is not apparent, as he reconveyed them a few days later.^® 
Edward and Ann had one child, whose birth is recorded May 27, 
1718, and his death July 27 following. April 6, 1724, Edward 
AVatts was chosen vestryman of [Christ Church] .^^ After the 
death of Edward and Eebecca (1714 and 1715), their son Edward 
managed the Winnisimmet estates until his own death, September 
17, 1727, aged 34. This fixes his birth at about 1693. I do not 
find his burial-place. [According to the records of Christ Church 
he was buried September 20, 1727.] 

The inventory of his estate, June 17, 1728, is of uncommon 
interest. It shows the business capacity of one who, dying young, 
left a personal estate of £2,878. 18. 11. a large sum, when 
sterling and provincial money were less differentiated than 
at a later day. It also shows the furnishing (though, perhaps, 
exceptional) of a house outside of Boston, and the apparel of an 
English emigrant of the middle class. But its chief interest is 
in the fact, of which there is no printed evidence nor even a tra- 
dition, that Winnisimmet at that time was the centre of a con- 
siderable trade for the country north of the Mystic and south of 
the Lynn marshes.^** 

Samuel Watts, second son of Edward and Eebecca, was married 
March 8, 1715/16, by Eev. John Webb, to Elizabeth Shute [pre- 
sumably daughter of Eichard and Lydia, born in Maiden, Febru- 
ary 20," 1698/9], Their children were: 

Richard, b. Jan. 23, 1718/9; d. July, 1771; wife Sarah d. Feb., 1758, 
aged 3G. 

Samuel, b. March 28, 1717; d. Nov., 1791. Inventory, Feb. 9, 1792.=^ 

Elizabeth, b. Nov. 25, 1720; [bapt. Dec. 4, 1720; d. Nov. 25, 1721.==] 

[Elizabeth, bapt. Sept. 16, 1722;] m. Benjamin Kent [H. C. 1727], 
Nov. 6, 1740. 

Edward, b. Aug. 1, 1724, 

Anne, b. March 9, 1726; m. [intention filed at Chelsea Sept. 3, 1749] 
Ebenezer Hough, who died Jan., 1772, aged 47, 

Rachel, bapt. March 2, 1729. 

==" [Supra, p. 308, note 40.] 
^ Foote, Annals of King's Chapel, i. 324. 
'" Supra, p. 323. 
"' SuflF. Prob. Rec, L. 91, f. 96. 
'' Gravestone at Revere. 
VOL. I. — 23 



354 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

His wife Elizabeth died March 16, 1731 [aged 32]. He married, 
November 18, 1?31, Hannah Hough [widow of Ebenezer Hough 
of Boston and daughter of Captain John Foye of Charlestown. 
She had by her first husband, who was a son of William Hough 
of Boston, tallow chandler, five children: Ebenezer, b. 1724; 
Hannah, b. 1725; Sarah, b. 1727; Mary, b. 1728, died 1729; 
John, b. 1729.^^ In 1750 Ebenezer and Sarah were living in 
Chelsea. In 1755 they mention their brother John Hough, 
" Mariner deceased," ^*] The children of Samuel and Hannah 
Watts were: 

Bellin^ham, b. Aug. 30, 1732; [bapt. Sept. 3]. 

[Bellingliam, b. May 22, 1734; bapt. May 26.] 

Belcher, bapt. June 8, 1735. 

William, bapt. Aug. 1, 1730; m. widow Mary Pratt, Aug. 8, 1760; 
[d. May 31, 1800, aged 70]. 

Edward, b. July 25, 1737; m. Mary Oxnard, May 22, 1705. 

Isaac, b. July 31, 1738; bapt. Aug. 6, 1738. 

Hannah [b. Aug. 0, 1741]; bapt. Aug. 9, 1741; m. Dr. Samuel 
Danforth [in Boston Dec. 24, 1770]. 

Samuel and Elizabeth were admitted to the church [at Rumney 
Marsh] October 19, 1718. His negro woman, Phillis, and her 
children, were baptized, — she January 1, 1743/4, and Cato, Bal- 
indon, and Violet, September 29, 1745. [Resident on the Town- 
send farm, and a member of the- church at Rumney Marsh, Samuel 
Watts, though born in England, became closely identified with the 
life of the district. He was chosen to serve as fence viewer in 
1718 and 1722, and to assist the selectmen of Boston as surveyors 
of highways for the district in 1723, and was sent to neighboring 
church councils as a representative of his church. In 1733, in 
the right of his second wife, he came into possession of a brick 
dwelling opposite the north side of the Court House or Exchange, 
on King Street, now State Street, in Boston.^^ This opened to 
him a wider career. In 1733 he joined the Ancient and Honor- 
able Artillery Company, and the title of Captain, in the militia, 
appears before his name in the record of his children's baptisms 
and elsewhere. In 1734 he was a Justice of the Peace. His two 
eldest sons — Samuel and Richard — entered Harvard College, — 
the former graduating in 1738, the latter in 1739.^® In March, 

'' Boston Vital Records ; Wyman, 372, 520. 

^* Suff. Deeds, L. 103, ff. 192-195; L. 117, f. 154; Prob. Rec, L. 48, 
f. 380 ; also Hough vs. Watts, Court Files of Inf. Court of Common Pleas 
for Suff. Co., July 1, 1770. 

»' Suff. Deeds, L. 99, ff. 212-215. 

'" Harvard Catalogue of 1794, with MSS. notes by Wm. Winthrop, 
Harvard College Library. 



CiiAP. VII] APPENDIX 5 355 

1734/5, he was one of the " Principal Subscribers " to the petition 
for the separation from Boston, and the incorporation of the Eum- 
ney Marsh district." In October, 1737, he was one of a committee 
of four to draw up an address from the town of Boston to the 
General Court.^^ By his own marriage to Hannah Foye Hough 
and the marriage of his brother's widow to Thomas Greaves he 
became allied with the most influential families in Charlestown. 
His wife's step-mother married, in 1736, Charles Chambers; in 
1738 Thomas Greaves' daughter married James Russell.^" Pre- 
sumably William Foye, a member of the Governor's Council, 
17-11-1751, was her uncle. The first service of Samuel Watts on 
a working committee of the House of Representatives was under 
the chairmanship of Thos. Greaves.*" As a member of the General 
Court, Chelsea's first Representative, his advancement was rapid. 
During his first year in the Assembly he served on thirty-one 
working committees, of three of which he was chairman, and 
was appointed also on some five or more committees less im- 
portant. Although the three committees of which he was chair- 
man were of minor importance, he served on the joint committee 
to consider the Governor's message on the Engrossed Supply 
and Tax Bill,*^ the House Committee to prepare a bill for 
the supply of the Treasury,"*- to examine the accounts of Mr. 
Wilks, the agent of the Province in England, and provide 
instructions for the new agent, Christopher Kilby.'*^ He served 
also on committees for the erection of sundry new townships 
and for the settlement of church disputes."** He was a member 
of the joint committee of the House and Council to prepare 
a memorial to the King on the financial difficulties of the Prov- 
ince,*^ of a joint committee to consider of some more effectual 
means for the more equal payment of all private debts hereafter 
to be contracted,*" of a joint committee to meet appointees of the 
Colony of Connecticut to rectify the boundary between the colo- 
nies,*^ of the committee to sit during the recess of the Court to 

"" Boston Rec. Com. Rep., xii. 97. Files of the Boston City Clerk. 

^ Ibid., xii. 177, 178. 

^" Wyman. 

*" House Journal, June 7, 1739. 

*' Ibid., June 29. 

*' Ibid., September 20. 

" Ibid., September 19, 28; January 1, 17.39/40. 

** Ibid., June 11, June 27, September 26, December 19, etc. 

" Ibid., December 27, 17.39; January 1, 10, 1739/40. 

*> Ibid., September 21, 1739. 

" Ibid., December 7, 27. 



356 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

compile for publication a book of the laws of the Province, 
other members of this latter committee being the Speaker of the 
House, Paul Dudley, and Thomas Greaves.*^ This in brief is 
the record of his first year in the Legislature. Though not one 
of the original petitioners for the establishment of a Land Bank, 
he was one of four members of the House of Representatives to 
accept the office of Director in the Company in July, 1740, the 
others being Thomas Cheever of Lynn, George Leonard of Xorton, 
and Pobert Halo of Beverly. As he continued in this otfice, not- 
withstanding the Governor's proclamation of November 5, 1T40, 
he was removed as Justice of the Peace December 5, 1740, and 
dismissed as Captain of the Chelsea militia April 22, 1741.^^ 
The following month he was elected Speaker of the House (nega- 
tived) ; July 31, 1741, by the General Court, Collector of Excise 
for Suffolk County,^" in 1742, Captain of the Ancient and Honor- 
able Artillery Company, and a member of the Governor's Council. 
His later career is sketched briefly in the text.] 

Daniel Watts, youngest son of Edward and Rebecca, born about 
1704, died in June, 1760, aged 56 ; and Elizabeth Mason, his wife, 
in March before, aged 57. [They were married September 14, 
1726.] They had: 

[Rebeckali, b. April 17, 1727; bapt. April 23 at the Brattle Square 
Church. 

Edward, b. May 18, 1729.] 

Elizabeth, bapt. [at Rumney Marsh] March 14, 1731. 

Sarah, bapt. July 29, 1733. 

Daniel, b. Feb. 18, 1734/5, [bapt. Feb. 23, 1734/5.] 

Rachel [b. 1737-4th day-3d month] ; " bapt. March 6, 173G/7; m. Wm. 
Leverett, April 12, 1759. 

Daniel [b. 1738-G-ll] ; bapt. Oct. 12, 1738. [sic] 

[Ebenezer, b. 1740-27-10; d. 1740-9-10 (sic).] 

Katharine [b. 1741-2-10]; bapt. Oct. 4, 1741. 

John, bapt. Sept. 23, 1744, [presumably married the widow Elizabeth 
Bill, Jan. 29. 1775. Births and deaths of two children of John and 
Elizabeth \Yatts were recorded at Chelsea, 1775-1778.] 

Did Daniel Watts have a son Edward ? The Probate Records ^- 
say Daniel Watts administered on the estate of his son Edward, 
March 25, 1757. 

In these genealogies I am perplexed by variances between the 

" March 17. 1739/40. 

*• Boston Weekly News-Letter, December 11, 1740: April 24, 1741. 

°" House Journal. 

" Chelsea Town Records. 

" L. 52, f. 204. 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 5 357 

printed Boston records of births and the church records of bap- 
tisms. The former affiliate [Kebeckah, Edward], Elizabeth and 
Sarah, to James Watts instead of to Daniel, as the latter do. 

The Brattle Square Church, Boston, dismissed Daniel Watts to 
the Eumney Marsh Church, which received him, February 9, 
1T48/9, and chose him deacon in September following. 

The last child of Edward and Rebecca Watts, I find, was 
Eebecca, who married John Muzzy of Lexington, innholdcr 
[grandson of Benjamin Muzzy of Eumney Marsh]. They released 
her interest in her father's estate December 10, 1730. [She mar- 
ried, first, December 24, ITll, John Turner, the rector of King's 
Chapel officiating, and had a son John,^^ born April 21, 1712, 
mentioned in his grandmother Eebecca's will ; m. second, Febru- 
ary IG, 1715/6, James Ingham; third, December 6, 1722, John 
Muzzy.] 

[Samuel (3) Watts (H. C. 1738) was born March 28, 1717; 
married Hannah Eachell January 8, 1740/41 ; died in November, 
1791. His wife died in November, 1780, aged 63. (Hannah, 
daughter of John and Hannah Eachel, was born July 16, 1718.) 
From the Chamberlain MSS.^* it appears that he lived at one time 
in Ehode Island. During the first 3'ear after his father's death 
he leased the two farms at Winnisimmet except the mansion house 
and the parts improved by Captain Eichard Watts, William Watts, 
and Ebenezer Hough.^^ Possibly he returned from Ehode Island 
after the death of Daniel Watts to take possession of that farm; 
his name reappears in the Chelsea town records about that time. 
From the correspondence between Jonathan Green and Dr. Edward 
Watts it appears that Samuel Watts was heavily in debt when his 
father died.^® He sold some 35 acres of marshland to Dr. Samuel 
Danforth. He held many town offices, and during the early years 
of the War of the Eevolution was sent as a delegate to several 
County and Provincial Congresses. On August 25, 1774, he was 
chosen one of three delegates to meet the Committee of Correspond- 
ence of the County of Suffolk at Dedham on the sixth of Septem- 
ber ; on October 3, 1774, he was chosen a delegate to the Provincial 
Congress called to meet at Concord, October 11, and a repre- 
sentative to the General Court summoned to meet at Salem on 
October 5. On November 21, 1774, he was appointed on a com- 

" April 9, 1734, John Turner of Charlestown, housewright, with his 
wife Sarah, quitclaimed to Samuel and Daniel Watts the two farms at 
Winnisimmet. Suff. Deeds, L. 74, f. 1G8. 

" Vol. ii. 127. 

" Ibid., ii. 69. 

"' Ibid., ii. 1.35, 139. 



358 



HISTORY OF CHELSEA 



[Chap. VII 



mittee of three to see that the resolves of the Continental and 
Provincial Congresses were enforced in the town, and to serve as 
a Committee of Correspondence: on May 30, 1TT5, he was again 
chosen a member of the Committee of Correspondence, which then 
numbered ten and was under the chairmanship of Eev. Phillips 
Payson. But Samuel Watts did not, like his father, become the 
leading man in the town, nor acquire an extensive reputation 
beyond its limits. 

The children of Samuel (3) and Hannah Watts as recorded at 
Chelsea were: 



Hannah born 


Samuel 


' 


Rachel 


' 


John 


' 


Isaac 


' 


Susanna 


" 


Elizabeth 


' 


Sarah ' 


' 


Belcher 


' 



1742-17th day-2d month; m. Benjamin Comee of Lexing- 
ton March 25, 1762.. 
1743-20- 7; m. Nancy Watts, Nov. 11, 1773. 
1745-18- 3; m. Benjamin Brintnall, Jr., Oct. 11, 1770. 
1747-15- I. 

1748- 5- 5; m. Rachel Pratt of Maiden Dec. 3, 1779. 
1750-lG- 2; m. Richard Watts June 24, 1773. 
1752-27-11 ; m. Reuben Weston of Reading Feb. 18, 1777. [ ?] 
1754- 5- 9; m. Ezra Brintnall June 2, 1774. 
1750-27- 4; m. Ezra Upham Aug. 15, 1782. 
1762-15- 3; m. Elizabeth Bulfinch of Boston Dec. 16, 1781. 



The following heirs of Samuel Watts, who died in 1791, signed 
a discharge to their brother Samuel Watts, administrator, July 16, 
1793, Isaac, Eichard, and Belcher Watts; Ezra and Rachel 
Brintnall; Benjamin and Hannah Comey; Ezra Upham.^' The 
same, with their wives, signed the conveyance to AVilliams in April. 

Captain Richard (3) Watts (H. C. 1739), second son of Hon. 
Samuel Watts, died in July, 1771, aged 52, He managed the inn 
and the store during the later years of his father's life. At his 
death he owed over £400 to eighty-one creditors. Over half of his 
inheritance from his father was consumed in meeting these obliga- 
tions. David Bradle}^ administrator, charged for forty-six days 
spent in settling the estate.^* The children of Richard and Sarah 
Watts of Winnisimmet were all baptized by the pastor of Christ 
Church in Boston. They were: 

Anno Die Mense 
Richard born 1740- 2- 9; bapt. Sept. 14, 1740. 

Elizabeth " 1742- 9- 3; m. April 16, 1761, Benj. Bill of Boston. [?] 
Sarali " 1744- 2-10; m. March 22, 1764, David Bradley of Boston. 

Richard " 1740-16-12 [ ?] 



SufT. Prob. Rec, L. 92, f. 635. 

Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 71, ff. 32, 414; L. 74, f. 160. 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 5 359 

Anna " 1748- 1- 1; m. Nov. 11, 1773, Samuel (4) Watts, son of 

Samuel (3). 
Mary " 1749-18- 3; d. 1750-7-5. 

Richard " 1754- 7-3; m. June 24, 1773, Mary, daughter of Samuel 

Watts; d. Nov., 1793. 
Ebenr " 175<3- 9- 4. 



Sarah, the wife, died 1758-20-2 aged thirty-six. ^^ His heirs 
were allotted no land in Chelsea. 

Bellingham (3) Watts, born May 22, 1734:; married Hannah 
Aubings December 19, 1757 (intention filed) ; was a sea captain 
and lived in Boston. His children were baptized at Christ Church. 
October 23, 1767, his will was probated. January 5, 1771, his 
widow Hannah was appointed guardian of the children, Samuel, 
Bellingham, and Hannah, to receive the inheritance from their 
grandfather, Hon. Samuel Watts.*'" 

The widow died in January, 1782, and was buried from Christ 
Church January 29. June 12, 1782, the guardians of Bellingham, 
Samuel, and Hannah Watts, minors, sold the inheritance in 
Chelsea.^^ 

William (3) Watts, son of Samuel (2) and Hannah Watts, 
married, August 8, 1760, Mrs. Mary Pratt, widow, who died in 
October, 1799, aged 76. He died May 31, 1806, aged 70.'^- At 
the settlement of his father's estate he was living on the Ferry 
farm, in a small house east of his father's mansion. The Day 
Book of Samuel Watts says : " Son W™ Watts Came here to work 
on the Farm," April 15, 1765. ''^ Later he lived on his inheritance 
in what is now Revere, the farm near the meeting-house purchased 
by Samuel Watts from the widow Abigail Chamberlain. His chil- 
dren as recorded at Chelsea were : 

William Brintnall Watts, b. 1760-29th day-lst month. 

Benjamin, 1763-3-3; m. Mary Pratt May 19, 1803. 

Hannah, 1765-24-9; m. May 22, 1786, Capt. James Brown. [ ?] 

Benjamin lived on the farm with his father, and had five chil- 
dren recorded at Chelsea between 1804 and 1821. 

Samuel (4) Watts was born July 20, 1743; m. Nov. 11, 1773, 
Nancy Watts, presumably his cousin daughter of Capt. Richard 

"^ Chelsea Town and Church Records. 

°» Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 66, f. 173; L. 70, f. 12; L. 84, f. 362. 

"' Suff. Deeds, L. 138, ff. 87-91 ; see also Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 72, f. 429. 

°^ Chelsea Church Records. 

« Chamberlain MSS. 



360 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

Watts. The children of Samuel and Ann Watts recorded at Chel- 
sea were : 

Samuel, b. 1774-4th (iay-12th month; d. 1777-15-3. 
Samuel, b. 1777-4-8. 
Saml., b. 1778-9-8. 
Saml., b. 1779-5-10. 

Samuel Watts of Boston, boatman, died in November, 1802, 
leaving a widow Nancy and a son Samuel. Ebenezer Watts of 
Boston, tailor, presumably his brother-in-law, administered on 
his estate, David Bradley and Samuel Watts, merchants, giving 
bonds. In the inventory was a large and a small sail-boat, and 
part of a pew in Chelsea meeting-house.''* 

Isaac (4) Watts, born May 5, 1748, married Rachel Pratt of 
Maiden, December 3,. 1779. Three children of Isaac and Eachel 
Pratt were recorded at Chelsea,, Eachel, born 1780-3d day-6th 
month; Hamiah, 1781-24-12; John 1784-8-2. 

Eichard (4) AVatts, son of Eichard and Sarah, married, June 
24, 1773, his cousin Mary, daughter of Samuel (3) Watts; died 
in November, 1793. Three children were baptized at Chelsea, 
Mary, April 21, 1776; Sarah, March 15, 1778; Elizabeth, Jan- 
uary 23, 1780. 

The following items as to houses on the Ferry farm are gleaned 
by comparing the division of the estate of Samuel Watts in 1772,**^ 
the inventory of the estate of his son Samuel in 1792, and the 
assessors' report for the direct tax of 1798. In 1772 the mansion 
house with three-fourths of an acre of land was valued at £145- 
6-8 ; in 1792 at £75; in 1798 with one acre three perches of land 
at $880. It was of two stories, covered 1520 feet, had 31 win- 
dows, and in 1798 was " Verry old," and was occupied by Henry 
Howell Williams, Jr. In 1772 the " Dwelling House near the ferry 
where the Tavern is kept" was valued at £66-13-4; in 1792 at 
£45, It was of two stories, covered 1080 feet, had twenty win- 
dows, and was " A^erry Old" in 1798. With a stable covering 
1144 feet and one-fourth of an acre of land, it was then valued at 
$1100, and was occupied by John Hill.«« In 1772 forty feet of 
tlic westerly end of the great barn, the new barn, the chaise house, 
and an old blacksmith shop were valued at £116, and 24 acres 110 
rods adjoining the tavern and these barns, etc., were valued at 
£412-1-8. These were assigned to Samuel Watts. In 1792 a barn 
with a large stable was valued at £40 ; two-thirds of a barn at £20. 

" Suflf. Prob. Rec, L. 101, ff. 77, 129; L. 102, flf. 85, 95. 
<«> Ibid., L. 71, f. 395; L. 01, f. 96. 
•" See also svpra, pp. 334-337. 



CiiAP. VII] APPENDIX 5 361 

Thirty feet of the east end of the great barn with 12 rods of land 
adjoining were valued at £21-13-4 in 1772, and assigned to Mrs. 
Ann Hough ; also a warehouse near the tavern and " on the left 
hand side of the Ferry ways as you go down to them," at £12, and 
40 rods of land near the warehouse at £4. In 1772 the small 
house in which William Watts was living with a corn house was 
valued at £12, and eighty rods of land adjoining thereto at £7; 
in 1792 the house and three-fourths of an acre of land were 
valued at £19. The house in which Mrs. Ann Hough was living 
was valued at £8, and eight acres of land under and near her 
house, at £116-13-4. These two houses stood east of the mansion 
house. As their site is not marked on the plan of the Ferry farm 
in 1830, it is possible that they stood on the land sold in 1825 by 
Thomas Williams to the United States for the Marine Hospital. 
They are not listed in the direct tax of 1798. The assessors for 
the direct tax prepared two lists; in one were all houses over 
$100 in value, with a house lot not to exceed one acre; in the 
other, farmlands, outbuildings, and houses worth less than $100. 
The Ferry farm was omitted from the latter list. December 22, 
1793, Benjamin Kent Hough of Gloucester, trader, for £300 
lawful money conveyed to Henry Howell Williams of Noddle's 
Island the land set off to his mother, Mrs. Ann Hough, from the 
estate of Hon. Samuel Watts, except 12 acres of salt marsh sold 
to Dr. Samuel Danforth.*'^ Mrs. Ann Hough of Gloucester had 
conveyed this land to her son March 14, 1793.*^* It included 40 
rods of land with a warehouse thereon which lay " on the left- 
hand side of the Ferry ways as you go down to them," and touched 
also the yard of the " Great House " ; 8 acres with a dwelling- 
house thereon, bounded by the " Great House " with its yard 
before and garden behind on the west, and the farm in the pos- 
session of Mr. Batchelder (Eustace-Shurtleff farm) on the 
east; 12 acres of pasture; and 12 rods of land adjoining the great 
barn, with 30 ft. of the barn at the east end ; the latter two parcels 
lay west of the road. The house was in the occupation of Ezra 
Brintnall, who had married a daughter of Samuel (3) Watts. 
According to this conveyance the % acre on which the house occu- 
pied in 1772 by William Watts stood, set off to Samuel Watts in 
the settlement of the estate of Hon. Samuel Watts, was enclosed 
on all sides except toward the harbor by Mrs. Hough's eight-acre 
lot. By this conveyance, and that from the heirs of Samuel Watts 
mentioned in the text,®^ Henry Howell Williams came into pos- 

*" Suff. Deeds, L. 177, f. 2G8, 269; also L. 168, f. 233; L. 172, f. 128. 
•« Ibid., L. 175, f. 101. 
«" Supra, p. 297. 



3G2 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

session of all the Ferry farm except the marshland, which Samuel 
Watts (iri7-l?91) and Mrs. Ann Hough sold to Dr. Samuel 
Danforth."'' At the time of his death in 1791 Samuel Watts 
owned 28 acres of marsh within the dyke, 341/^ acres of pasture, 
36% acres of mowing-land, and 4 acres of tillage;'^ also 1.2l^ 
acres of woodland that was not a part of the Ferry farm. In 1798 
II. H. Williams of Noddle's Island and Samuel Danforth made 
an exchange of marshland, Williams conveying to Danforth the 
marshland bought of the heirs of Samuel Watts that lay within 
the dam north of Island End River.^- Thomas Williams sold to 
the United States, July 6, 1825, five acres at the southeast 
corner of the farm, bounded on the sea south and on the County 
road north. This with five acres purchased from the adjoining 
Shurtleff farm formed the first Marine Hospital lot.] ^^ 

■"> Suff. Deeds, L. 168, f. G7. 

" Suff. Prob. Rec., L. 91, f. 96. 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 191, ff. 205, 209. 

" Ibid., L. 302, f. IGl; L. 301, f. 145; L. 351, f. 76. A plan of the 
Hospital Lot is in L. 718 end; see also plans of the Ferry and Shurtleff 
farms, L. 351, f. 153 and L, 893, f. 185. 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 6 363 



APPENDIX 6 

Henry Howell Williams (son of Colonel Joseph Williams, of 
Eoxbury in 1775) was born October 23, 1736, married Elizabeth, 
daughter of Thomas Bell, 28 January, 1762,^ and died at Chelsea, 
December 26, 1802. Having married the daughter of the lessee of 
Xoddle's Island, he removed thither, and there he remained until 
he removed, about 1800, to Chelsea, where, some years previously, 
he had purchased the Ferry farm, later known as the Williams 
farm, though called by him Howell Place. The Williams journal, 
which appears to have been principally kept by the daughters of 
Mr. Williams, says under April 8, 1793, " Papa went to Chelsea 
immediately after dinner ; there purchased a farm " ; after which 
a daily intercourse was kept up between the Island and Chelsea 
until the removal of the family thither. The children of Henry 
Howell and Elizabeth Williams, probably all born on Noddle's 
Island, Avere: Elizabeth, b. Aug. 6, 1765, m. Andrew Sigourney 
Oct. 7, 1797, d. 1843; Henry Howell, b. March 9, 1767, m. Sally 
Williams Sept. 25, 1800, d. 1832; Martha, b. Aug. 25, 1768, m. 
Daniel Sigourney Jan. 28, 1798, d. 1828; Thomas, b. Sept. 2, 
1770, m. Eliza Avery Feb. 3, 1803, succeeded his father as tenant 
of Noddle's Island, and died at Chelsea, 1833 ; John Shirley, b. 
May 3, 1773, m. Nancy Hunt May 6, 1807 ; Harriet, b. Dec. 1, 
1773, m. John Avery, Jr. (father of John Avery, Esq., of Lowell), 
April 9, 1799, both "'lost at sea Oct. 27, 1800; Ardelia, b. July 6, 
1775, d. unmarried April 9, 1838; Nancy, b. 19 March, 1777, m. 
Amos A. Williams Oct. 31, 1802, d. at Baltimore, Sept. 7, 1804; 
and Catherine, b. Jan. 15, 1780. 

Mr. Williams was a man of character, and his life presents 
many interesting incidents, but as they occurred chiefly at 
Noddle's Island, where his life was mainly passed, the reader is 
referred to Sumner's History of East Boston, where they will be 
found, and from which I have drawn a large part of the foregoing. 
Doubtless the papers in the possession of General Sumner contain 
many facts of interest respecting Chelsea. I have sought, and 
am still seeking for them, but thus far in vain, so that I am not 
able even to verify such statements as I have drawn from General 
Sumner's history. 

"■ Sumner, East Boston, 323. 



364 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

lie and his son Thomas were successive tenants of Noddle's 
Ishmd for seventy years. In the Eovolution the property of the 
father was destroyed by the American troops for public reasons, 
and as a partial compensation General Washington gave him the 
abandoned barracks at Cambridge, which he removed to Noddle's 
Island, and partly used for building a house. Like some others 
who finally joined the revolutionary party, he was an " Addresser " 
of Governor Hutchinson. 

[October 21, 1817, Daniel Sigoumey of Chelsea, merchant, and 
his wife Martha quitclaimed to Thomas Williams of Noddle's 
Island their right to the homestead of the late Henry Howell Wil- 
liams in Chelsea, to the Ferry Ways there, and to the house and 
land on the corner of North and Lynn streets in Boston, which all 
had been set off in April, 1804, to Elizabeth Williams, widow of 
Henry Howell Williams, as her dower. The following releases were 
recorded with the above: April 21, 1821, from Ardelia and Cath- 
arine Williams of Chelsea, spinsters, for $2,400; from John 
Shirley Williams of Eoxbury with his wife Nancy for $1,200; 
from John Avery of Boston, merchant, March 1, 1822 ; from Henry 
Howell Williams of Colrain, Franklin County, May 8, 1827; 
from Amos Adams Williams of Baltimore and his daughter Nancy ; 
from Elizabeth Sigourney of Boston, widow, for $900.-] 

= Suff. Deeds, L. 351, ff. 145-150. 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 7 365 



APPENDIX 7 

[In the inventory of Governor Bellingham's estate Nicholas 
Rice was mentioned as tenant at £20 a year of one of the Win- 
nisimmet farms. He became involved in the conflict over the 
governor's will, as is related elsewhere/ and removed to Eeading. 
In 1692 his wife Sarah, who had "lived with him as a good, 
faithful, dutiful wife . . . above twenty years," was imprisoned 
for some five months in the Boston Jail on a charge of witchcraft. 
Nicholas Eice, petitioning in her behalf, said she was in her " old 
age " and " decrepit." - She died in 1698. He may have been 
the Nicholas Eice of Boston, planter, who executed letters of 
attorney in 1648 for the collection of legacies in Essex and Suffolk, 
England. He called Joseph Belknap of Boston brother.^ 

William Eustace succeeded Eice as tenant on the farm."* He 
had seven sons and three daughters, born after 1659.^ Upon his 
death November 27, 1694, his widow Sarah and his son John 
were appointed administrators of his estate.*' 

In 1697 and 1700 lawsuits were brought against Sarah, widow 
of William Eustace. She died in June, 1713, aged 74, and was 
buried at Charlestown. William (1) Eustace at his death in 
1694 owned land in Boston, on which a house had been built 
by the eldest son John. According to the inventory of the son's 
estate, he lived apparently on " the Back Street " at the North 
End of Boston. At least three sons lived at Winnisimmet, Joseph, 
William, and Jonathan. Joseph died Jan. 29, 1690/1. Joseph's 
wife Abigail also died between January 29, when a babe was born 
and died, and February 27, when Samuel Townsend of the neigh- 
boring farm presented an inventory of the estate of Joseph and 
Abigail Eustace. His brother, Benjamin Eustace, died on January 

' Infra, appendixes to chap. ix. and chap x. 

* Eaton, Reading, 110. 

* Boston Rec. Com. Rep., xxxii. 160; infra, chap. x. appendix. 

* Infra, Appendix 3 to chap. ix. 

^ With two exceptions their births are recorded at Boston. For the 
genealogy of the family see N. E. Hist, and Gen. Reg., xxxii. 204. 

' Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 13, flf. 518, 519. His estate was appraised by 
John Smith and John Center. 



366 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

4, and was buried in Maiden. Possibly the family suffered from 
the small-pox, which was then epidemic at Eumney Marsh.'^ It 
was forbidden to carry the dead across the ferry for burial in 
Boston. In IvOl and 1702 the farm was taxed to William 
Eustace, the second son. Jonathan's name does not appear on 
either tax list, yet he was constable for the Eumney Marsh 
district in the year 1706, surveyor of highways the succeeding 
year, and fence viewer in 1708; while William was tithingman 
in 1709. The estates of Jonathan (3) Eustace, who died in 
1738, and of his nephew Thomas (3) Eustace (son of William), 
who died in 1752, were both settled in the year 1760. Among 
the effects of Thomas Eustace were 71/0 cows.® The lawsuit, 
instituted in 1757 by the town of Chelsea to recover this farm 
under the provisions of Governor Bellingham's will, was brought 
against Joshua Eustace, housewright, and Abigail Eustace, widow 
of Thomas Eustace. Joshua Eustace, husbandman of Chelsea,** was 
the administrator of the estate of Jonathan Eustace in 1760. 
Thus it appears that William (2) Eustace and Jonathan (2) 
Eustace and their heirs shared the tenancy of the farms until after 
1760. Their sister Mary married November 30, 1708, Abraham 
Townsend of the adjoining farm. She and her sisters were mar- 
ried by Eev. Cotton Mather of the North Church in Boston, and 
the children of Joseph, William, and Jonathan were baptized 
there.i*' 

William, son of the first William Eustace, was bom February 25, 
1660-1 ; married Sarah Cutler, daughter of Thomas and Mary 
Cutler of Charlestown, October 39, 1688; died February 10, 
1736-7, aged seventy-seven years eleven months and twenty days, 
according to the gravestone at Eevere. His wife died June 38, 
1718, in the eight3^-fifth year of her age. The ages and dates of 
death, as deciphered on the gravestones, are not quite in accord 
with the dates of birth given in the Boston records for William 
Eustace, and by Wyman for the wife, Sarah Eustace.^^ Jonathan, 
son of the first William Eustace, was married by Eev. Cotton 

' Mass. Archives, xxxvi. 388. 

* Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 47, ff. 43, 417; L 54, f. 387. 

» Ibid., L. 57, f. 252. 

" Joseph Eustace, who died in 1690/91, joined the North Church March 
24, 1689, and had liis daughter Abigail baptized April 7, 1G89. Sarah, 
wife of Jonathan Eustace, owned the covenant June 23, 1706, and had 
three children, Jonathan, Sarah, and Mary, baptized; William Eustace 
owned the covenant November 1, 1713, and had four sons baptized, Joseph, 
Thomas, Nathaniel, and Samuel, also two daughters. Mary and Ruth. 

" See also Suff. Deeds, L. 33, f. 16, where it is said that Sarah Eustace 
was 52 years old in 1718, June 18. 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 7 367 

Mather to Sarah Scollay November 16, 1699 ; he died, the grave- 
stone at Eevere states, September 3, 1738, in the sixty-third year 
of his age. 

Of the sons of William (2) Eustace and Sarah Cutler, two, 
William and Thomas, lie buried at Eevere. Thomas was the first 
of his family to join the church at Rumney Marsh (Jan. 21, 
1727/8), and his children were baptized there. He married. May 
12, 1730, Abigail, daughter of Deacon John Chamberlain by his 
wife Hannah. The widow Abigail Eustace and her son William 
(4) Eustace left the farm April 19, 1775, and were living in 
Charlton, Worcester County, in 1785. On the same day their 
neighbor Jonathan Oreen by command, he said, of the Council of 
Safety removed his stock from Chelsea and took it to Eeading, 
This was in order to cut off supplies from the British fleet in 
Boston harbor. Eustace was a tenant merely, and his removal 
was permanent. When in 1757 a part of the so-called Country 
Gore was annexed to the district of Charlton, Samuel and Na- 
thaniel Eustis were among its inhabitants.^^ Thomas (3) Eustace 
of Winnisimmet had two younger brothers of that name, and 
according to his inventory, dated November 27, 1752, he pos- 
sessed 88 acres " in a place called the Country Gore." ^^ Thomas 
and Abigail Eustace had two sons, Thomas and Chamberlain, 
who WTre settled in Eutland, Massachusetts, at the outbreak of the 
War of the Eevolution. The first married a daughter of Dr. Wheat 
of Newton ; the second a daughter of Eev. Joseph Buckminster.^* 
Two daughters lived at Eumney Marsh, Mary, who married Wil- 
liam Harris March 29, 1774, and Abigail, who married Joshua 
Cheever May 8, 1765. Finally William Eustace returned to 
Chelsea, was tenant of the Yeamans farm when the direct tax 
was assessed in 1798, and died in 1818. The widow Abigail 
Eustace died in 1798. Both lie buried at Eevere, 

AVhen William Eustace left the farm it was owned by the 
descendants of the Eobert Thompson who bought it in 1686. 
Their agents in America for renting it had been Thomas Gushing 
until his death in 1746; then Secretary (later Lt.-Gov.) An- 
drew Oliver till his death in 1774; after that apparently Thomas 
Hutchinson. Owned by an Englishman, Avhose agent was an 
emigrant loyalist, the town of Chelsea took possession, rented 
it, and finally claimed title thereto under Governor Bcllingham's 

" D. H. Hurd, Hist, of Worcester County. Some 70 years before a 
Robert Thompson, possibly the proprietor of the Winnisimmet farm, owned 
6000 acres thei-e. 

" Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 47, f. 417. 

" Jonas Reed, Hist, of Rutland, 127. 



368 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

will, as the later chapters will show. From 1776 to 1779 
Joseph Oliver and Ezra Brintnall were the town's tenants. After 
April 1, 1771), Kev. Phillips Payson accepted the farm in lieu 
of a portion of his salary. May 14, 1781, he informed the select- 
men that he had brought from Abington the widow Eebeckah 
Payne (aged about 40) with six children, and put them in the 
house on this farm. January 8, 1782, the selectmen warned them 
to depart, but the constable reported, " cant due nothing " ; and 
entered a caution with the clerk of the County Court. September 
21, 1787, Colonel Thomas Dawes as agent for Robert Thompson 
of Elsham, England, received formal possession of the farm. 
Josiah Batcheldor was mentioned as the tenant in 1793.^^ The 
house standing on the farm in 1798 covered 1230 feet, was of two 
stories, with nineteen windows, was " Verry Old," and with an 
acre of land was valued at $660. There were two barns, 60 X 30 
and 40 X 27, and a corn barn 15 X 15. Josiah Batcheldor was 
the tenant.] 

^^ SuflF. Deeds, L. 175, f. 245. Feb. 16, 1789, the selectmen of Chelsea 
gave the constable a warrant to warn out of town Captain Josiah Bachelor, 
his wife, Sarah, and their children, Nancy, Richard, Dolly, Josiah, Sarah, 
and Moses. They came from Kingston, N. H. Selectmen's Records, i. 200, 
203. 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 8 369 



APPENDIX 8 

[Mrs. Anne Greaves died intestate in 1738. By the indenture 
of June 21, 1728, two-thirds of the farm was confirmed to Thomas 
Greaves, who survived her, and one-third passed at his deatli to 
her heirs, her brother, William Antram, and her sister, the wife 
of John Channing and great-grandmother of William Ellery 
Channing. Thomas Greaves died June 19, 1747, leaving his two- 
thirds of the farm, with other property, to his two daughters, 
Katharine, wife of James Eussell of Charlestown, and Margaret, 
wife of Captain Samuel Cary.^ The heirs of Mrs. Anne Greaves 
retained their interest in the farm at Chelsea imtil 1763, when 
they sold their rights to James Russell and Samuel Cary. Ben- 
jamin Gushing of Providence, who had married Elizabeth Antram 
in 1734, with his son Benjamin and his daughter Ann, sold one- 
tenth of one-third; Darius Sessions, who married Sarah Antram 
in 1750, his wife Sarah and Mary Antram, spinster, all of Provi- 
dence, sold four- tenths of one- third. William Antram of Provi- 
dence, merchant, had previously given his sister Mary a deed of 
gift of his two-tenths share. Eleazer Trevett of Newport, mer- 
chant, with his wife Sarah and Ann Channing, spinster, sold the 
remaining one-half of Mrs. Greaves' third of the farm. John 
Channing of Newport, merchant, had executed a deed of gift to 
his two sisters, Mary and Ann, in 1746.^ The consideration for 
the tliird of the fann was about £438. 

Several acres adjoining the mill dam had a separate history. 
When a grist mill was built on Mill Eiver the southern end of the 
dam touched this farm, and Thomas Greaves became owner of a 
half interest. March G, 1737/8, title to this, a " Small Dwelling 
house," and a portion of the farm adjoining the house and mill 
pond, was conveyed by Thomas and Ann Greaves to Dr. Philip 
Thompson, who on the following day conveyed the same to Thomas 
Greaves, the consideration being the same in each conveyance, — 
£1000. Thus Mrs. Ann Greaves debarred her heirs from inherit- 
ing her thirds in this property, which descended to his daughters. 
In 1737/8 the house and mill were in the occupation of Joseph 

^ Middlesex Prob. Files, 6738. 
=" Suflf. Deeds, L. 101, ff. 11-17. 
VOL. I. — 24 



370 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

Gould, the land in that of Stephen Kent. It vras bounded south- 
cast by the river, south by a small creek ; and from the head of said 
creek by a straight line up to the mowing land ; then south by the 
stone wall of the mowing land to the northwest corner of that wall ; 
then by a straight line running northeast across the mill pond; 
north by the mill pond and creek ; east by the river. Forty acres 
were contained within these limits according to the record in the 
Suffolk Eegistry. Yet in a conveyance dated September 14, 1749, 
the land, described as above, was stated to contain 80 acres; and 
the remainder of the farm about 300 acres.^ As the heirs of Mrs. 
Ann Greaves quitclaimed all rights under the indenture of June 
21, 1728, James Russell and Samuel Gary held in 1763 title to the 
whole farm, for the conveyances of 1749 above cited had vested 
title to the property in James Russell and Samuel Gary instead 
of in their wives.* 

October 26, 1765, James Russell and his wife Katharine con- 
vej^edto Samuel Gary for £591 an undivided half of the entire 
farm, which is there described as containing three hundred sixty- 
four acres, with dwelling-houses, bams, etc. The farm was said 
to be in the occupation of Samuel Sprague and John Oldham. 
Mention was made in an earlier deed of " a messuage on said land 
near the mills." ^ This house, occupied by Joseph Gould in 1737/8 
and 1749, presumably was the one occupied by Oldham in 1765. 
James and Katharine Russell retained their right to one- fourth 
of the grist mill and dam.*^ Thus in 1765, three years after his 
wife's death, Samuel Gary was sole owner of the whole farm and 
of one-fourth of the mill. 

Four years later, December 4, 1769, Gaptain Samuel Gary died 
at Ghelsea. His will, dated November 14, 1763, was probated 
December 29, 1769. After the gift of a house in Boston to his 
eldest son, Samuel, he left the remainder of his estate, including 
this farm, to his three sons, Samuel, born September 20, 1742, 
then in business at St. Kitts, Grenada; Thomas, born October, 
1745, a minister at ISrewbur3^port ; and Jonathan, bom October 21, 
1749.^ Jonathan Gary went to sea, became a captain, and died 
without heirs. November 12, 1770, Samuel Gary of the Island of 
Grenada, planter, now in Boston, mortgaged to Thomas Gary of 
Newburyport one-third of the farm for £500.^ September 13, 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 67, ff. 76-78; L. 105, ff. 6G-72. 

* Ibid.; also L. 78, f. 235. 

" Ibid., L. 78, f. 235; L. 105, flf. 66, 68, 71, 72. 

« Ibid., L. 107, f. 52; L. 110, f. 23. 

' Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 68, f. 437. 

« Suff. Deeds, L. 118, f. 153; released September 14, 1784. 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 8 371 

1784, Thomas Gary of Newburyport, clerk, sold to Samuel Gary 
of the Island of Grenada for £T50 an undivided moiety of the 
farm and one-eighth of the gristmill ; and on the same day Samuel 
Gary and his wife Sarah mortgaged the entire farm and one-fourth 
of the mill to Thomas Gary for £1350.^ September 18, 1795, 
Samuel Gary, of Chelsea, conveyed this farm, 365 acres with the 
mansion house and other buildings, to William Tudor and John 
Godman in trust for the use of "Sarah Gary, wife of Samuel Gary 
for and during the term of her Natural Life," then to the use of 
the children of the said Sarah by the said Samuel. ^° No mention 
was made of the mill rights. In the direct tax jof 1798 the man- 
sion house with an acre of land was assessed at $1100. It was of 
two stories with 31 windows. It covered 1596 feet; the wood 
house covered 450 feet, and a chaise house, 288 feet. The outhous- 
ing consisted of two barns, 40 X 30 and 30 X 18, a stable and 
tool-house, 40 X 12, an open shed 36 X 12, and a com barn 
16 X 12. These with 362 acres were assessed for $6502.50. A 
house of one story, 28 X 13, occupied by John Low, the tenant 
farmer, with an acre of land was valued at $60. 

February 2, 1851, Henry Gary, Anne M. Gary, Harriet Gary, 
Thomas G. Gar};-, George B. Gary, Robert H. Gary, and Wm. T. 
Gary, seven of the surviving children of Samuel and Sarah Gary, 
each possessing one-tenth of the estate, and the four surviving 
children of Sarah Tuckerman, wife of Eev. Joseph Tuckerman 
and daughter of said Samuel and Sarah, conveyed their interests 
in the Gary farm to Gharles S. Gary for $120,000." He acquired 
another tenth from the assignees of Margaret Gary.^- September 
1, 1851, Gharles S. Gary of Ghelsea conveyed the farm to Joseph 
W. Glark, the consideration being $150,000. May 1, 1852, Joseph 
W. Glark of Dcdham conveyed the same to The Gary Improve- 
ment Go.^^ Gharles S. Gary, Ann M. Gary, and Harriet Gary 
retained the mansion house and 38,164 square feet of land. The 
house is still standing (1906).^* So far as the records show the 
lands of the Gary Improvement Gompany in 1852 were iden- 
tical with the farm set off to Thomas and Ann Greaves in 1728, 
notwithstanding the fact that in 1765 the farm was estimated to 
contain 365 acres, in 1728, 300 acres. 

No mill rights were conveyed to The Gary Improvement Gom- 

^ SuflP. Deeds, L. 145, ff. 12, 20; released February 9, 1811. 

" Ibid., L. 181, f. 181. 

" Ibid., L. G25, f. 177. 

" Ibid., i. 179; see also L. 596, ff. 121-12G; L. G17, ff. 284, 285. 

" Ibid., L. 025, f. 180; L. 632, f. 198. 

" Ibid., L. G42, ft'. 88, 89. Plan by H. II. Wilson. 



372 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

pany. A few words as to their history follow. Mill rights in 
Chelsea date apparently from May 5, 1722.^^ In 1735 there 
were two grist mills on the Mill lliver/*^ full ownership of which 
became vested in Thomas Greaves and Hon. ISamuel Watts, 
in the latter apparently by purchase from Thomas and Samuel 
Pratt, sons of Thomas Pratt of the Way-Ireland farm, who died 
in 1732. At the death of Hon. Samuel Watts, in 1770, the mills 
were in the improvement of Thomas Pratt, under the supervision 
of Hon. Samuel Watts, as the administrator charged " to one 
Day with m'". Kussell & M''. Gary to Inquire after m^'. Pratts man- 
ner of Improveing Chelsea Mills I finding no Contract between 
Major Watts & said pratt." ^" At this time one-half of the mills 
belonged to the estate of Hon. Samuel Watts, one-fourth to the 
heirs of Samuel Gary, and one-fourth to James Russell. For 
£13 6s. Sd. paid October 7, 1769, and a like sum payable yearly for 
eleven years with interest thereon, James Russell of Lincoln sold 
one-fourth of the mills to Jonathan Williams of Chelsea, the final 
conveyance being signed and acknowledged December 1, 1780.^^ 
August 21, 1781, Jonathan Williams of Chelsea with his wife 
Lydia conveyed the same for £26 12s. 4d in specie to her father, 
Samuel Sprague, tenant of the Gary farm.^" In the meantime, on 
May 27, 1780, James Stowers, son-in-law of Samuel Sprague, had 
acquired the half of the mills formerly owned by Samuel Watts.-* 
Samuel Gary and his brother owned one-fourth. June 27, 1793, 
James Stowers with his wife Sarah conveyed one-half of the 
mills to Samuel Gary for £52 Ss. 2d., and one-fourth to Joshua 
Cheever for £27 lis. 8d.'^ Apparently the mills were stand- 
ing at that date, but were destroyed before 1795. In February, 
1795, Samuel Gary and the owners of the Pratt and Cheever 
farms petitioned the General Court to be incorporated for the pur- 
pose of building a dyke across the Mill River. They recite that 
'•' they are the Owners of upwards of Seventy Acres of Salt Marsh 
... at the End of a Greek whereon a Grist Mill formerly stood, 
Avhich Land as it is now subjected to the Effects of the Tide is of 
very little Value, but if secured against the Salt Water by a strong 

" Boston Rec. Com. Rep., viii. 1G5; also Chelsea Town Records, May 18, 
1763. 

'" Chamberlain MSS., i. 139. 

" Ibid., ii. 87. 

" SufT. Deeds, L. 17G, f. 243. 

" Ibid., L. 135, f. !)9. 

■" Ibid., L. 135, ir. 90-98. 

■' Ibid., L. 170, ir. 244, 245. See also L. 130, f. 198 for a conveyance to 
John Bucknum and Thomas Lock. 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 8 3Y3 

Dike would be made a valuable Property to your Petitioners, while 
it added a large Parcel of Grass Land to a Town the smallest in 
the County." -- The petition was granted and the dyke was 
constructed. 

April 29, 1819, Sarah Gary of Ghelsea, widow, quitclaimed to 
the Town of Ghelsea for $412 her right to erect a mill or mills 
on Mill Eiver " on a dam of such height as will keep said river 
filled with Water, without overflowing the Marsh above said Dam." 
She gave a warranty against all claiming under her or her hus- 
band, Samuel Gary, deceased.-^ March 28, 1822, the heirs of 
Joshua Gheever conveyed to the Town of Ghelsea for $137.50 their 
right " to the old mill site " and to one-fourth of the mill rights.-^] 

" Mass. Archives, papers filed with chap. 71, acts of 179^. The peti- 
tioners were Samuel Cary, Joshua Cheever, Edward Pratt, Caleb Pratt, 
Caleb Pratt, Jr., for Samuel H. Pratt, Samuel Pratt, and Joseph Cheever. 

=^ Suff. Deeds, L. 2G4, f. 172. 

" Ibid., L. 281, f. 243. 



374 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Cuap. VII 



APPENDIX 9 

[Stephen Kent may have been the immediate successor of 
Samuel Watts on the Townsend-Cary farm, for he Avas fence- 
viewer at Rumncy Marsh in 173-1 and constable in 1?36. Presum- 
abl}^ he was a brother of Benjamin Kent, who married Elizabeth, 
daughter of Samuel Watts, and a son of Joseph Kent, of 
Charlestown, and was born June 14, 1706.^ Feb. 4, 1735/6, he 
married Elizabeth Hasey, daughter of Deacon Jacob and Abigail 
Hasey of Eumncy Marsh.- The following children appear on the 
Boston and Chelsea records : 

Elizabeth, b. March 20, bapt. March 21, 1736/7; Abigail, b. Nov. 12, 
1738; Stephen, b. 1740-the 27th day-4th month, bapt. May 4, 1740; 
Jacob, b. 1741-12-1; cl. 1741-17-6 [sic], was bapt. Jan. 17, 1741/2, at 
Chelsea, and according to the gravestone at Revere d. June 17, 1742, aged 
5 months 5 days; Rebecca, b. and d. 1743-26-3; Benjamin, b. 1744-22-4, 
bapt. April 29, 1744, d. March 3, 1747/8, aged 4 years (gravestone) ; 
Chariessa, b. 1746-10-7; bapt. July 13, 1746; d. Feb. 28, 1747/8, aged 19 
months and 20 days; Carissa, b. 1748-12-3; Sibel, b. 1750-24-1. 

Stephen Kent left the farm before 1757, as Samuel Sprague was 
then mentioned as the tenant. April 2, 1754, the marriage inten- 
tion of Elizabeth Kent with Ebenezer Bootman of Marblehoad 
was recorded at Chelsea. As the youngest daughter of Samuel 
Sprague, Rachel, born September 19, 1756, is the first recorded 
on the Chelsea Town Records, it is perhaps reasonable to assume 
that Stephen Kent left the farm between April 2, 1754, and Sep- 
tember 19, 1756. In 1760 the family was living in Roxbury, 
whence Stephen Kent was summoned to give evidence in a suit 
brought by the widow Abigail Ilasey against Elisha Tuttle of 
Rumney Marsh. Elizabeth Kent also gave evidence in the case.^ 

Samuel Spragvie was the son of Phineas and Elizabeth Sprague 
of Maiden, and married first January 11, 1736/7, Martha Hills. 
She died September 13, 1750. October 9, 1752. the intention of 
marriage of Samuel Sprague of ^lalden and Rachel Floyd was 
recorded at Chelsea. She was a daughter of John Floyd.* 

* Wyman. See also L. Vernon Briggs, Kent Genealogj\ 
=" Boston Records; Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 48, f. 172. 

^ Court Files, Inf. Court of Common Pleas, January term, 1760. 

* Supra, p. 190. 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 9 375 

Captain Samuel Sprague was influential in the town, and was 
especiall}' prominent during the War of the Eevolution, as will be 
related elsewhere. At the time of his death he was tenant of the 
Gary farm, and also owned two farms in what is now Eevere, 
one purchased of Azor Orne, the other of Daniel Tuttle; each 
was described as having a house, a barn, and 33 acres of land.^ 
He also possessed 46 acres of woodland in Maiden and Lynn. He 
owned the following stock, two pair of oxen, one pair of steers, 
95 sheep and lambs, 15 cattle, a horse and colt, 11 hogs and 
pigs.^ Two items in the accounts settling this estate are confirma- 
tory of Captain Sprague's tenancy of the Cary farm. Two horses 
were claimed by the agent of ]\Ir. Cary. The widow's goods were 
removed three miles to the house of which she was given by will 
a life lease, that bought of Daniel Tuttle. Samuel A. Otis was 
Mr. Cary's agent. '^ By will Samuel Sprague provided that two 
negroes, Csesar and Peg, the latter supposed to be eighty years old 
in 1784, and blind, should be supported out of the estate for life. 
Presumably Cffisar, who died December 17, 1803, "supposed to 
be near '' 100, was the former.® It is interesting to compare 
the minute provision for the widow made in Captain Sprague's 
will," with that for the wives of Thomas Cheever, Hugh Floyd, 
and Thomas Pratt some fifty years earlier. She was to have 
the use of the house which he bought of Daniel Tuttle, accord- 
ing to the inventory the more valuable of the two houses, as 
long as she remained a widow. It was to be kept in repair 
for her. She was given one-third of the household goods and 
an annuity of £4 in silver money. Two cows were to be kept 
for her. She was to have the use of a horse. Also there was to 
be delivered at her house each year 12 bushels of Indian corn, 
four of rice, two of malt ; 70 pounds of well fatted pork, 90 pounds 
of good beef, 6 bushels of potatoes, 8 pounds of good wool, 20 of 
good flax ; 2 barrels of cider, apples from the orchard, and 6 
cords of hard wood. She was to have the use of a small garden 
two rods square near the house. She died in June, 1786, aged 
seventy-three. After making this provision for his wife Captain 
Sprague left his estate to his seven daughters, or in case of their 
death to their children. He appointed as executors his sons-in- 
law Joseph Green and James StoAver of Chelsea. His only son, 

■> Supra, pp. 213, 215. 

« Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 83, f. 246. 

' Ibid., L. 85, ff. 118-120. See Cary Letters, 69. 

* Church records of deaths. 

» Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 82, f. 307. 



376 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VTI 

Samuel, had died September 4, 1768, in tlie 23d year of his 
age. His daughters were: Martha, whose intention of marriage 
with Joseph Green of Stoneham, later of Chelsea,^" was filed at 
Chelsea July 25, 1757; Elizabeth, whose intention of marriage 
with Joseph Pratt of Maiden was filed July 9, 1757; Mary 
married Caleb Pratt May 26, 1762; Sarah m. James Stowers 
Jan. 3, 1765, died Sept., 1796, aged 53; Lydia m. Jonathan 
Williams Sept. 12, 1771; Lois m. Isaac Green of Eeading, Feb. 
13, 1772, died before her father; Rachel m. Jonathan Hawks 
May 20, 1776, died in June, 1782, aged 26. The births of Martha, 
Elizabeth, Lydia, and Lois were recorded at Maiden. 

Captain Sprague had a sister Lydia, who died unmarried in 
1777, aged 69, and was buried in the old burial-ground in what 
is now Pevere. By will dated in 1777 she made a very minute 
and interesting division of her wardrobe among her brother's 
daughters and her two sisters, Lois Green and Mary Lynde.^^ 

AMien Samuel Cary and his wife returned from Grenada in 
1791 a Mr. Low and his family were tenants of the farm, and 
occupied a part of the mansion house.^- Doubtless this was 
Samuel Low, as he was taxed in Januar}^, 1791, for the building 
of the new schoolhouse in that neighborhood.^^ In 1794 Samuel 
Cary was directing in person the workmen on the farm.^* In 
November, 1796, on account of the insurrection in the West 
Indies, by which he lost heavily, he left Chelsea to attend to his 
estates in the islands. Although he left memoranda and full 
power with his wife for the management of the farm, a Mr. 
Low is again mentioned in connection therewith. ^^ John Low 
occupied a cottage on the farm in 1798. In January, 1801, Mr. 
Low had recently " taken the farm at halves *' and was occupying 
a part of the mansion house.^" This was John Low, Jr. (son of 
John and Abigail Low), who married Charlotte Sandbach May 
20, 1798. Charlotte Sandbach joined the church at Chelsea July 
27, 1794; apparently she came from the West Indies with Mrs. 
Cary.^^ John Low, Jr., joined the Chelsea Church June 30, 1799, 
and on the same day their first-born, John, was baptized. They 
were probably " the little cottager with his father and mother " 

" Supra, p. 246. 

" Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 76, f. 297. 

« Cary Letters, 90. 

" Chamberlain MSS., vii. 137; supra, p. 240. 

" Cary Letters, 110. 

" Ibid., 121, 123, 134-136. 

" Ibid., 164. 

".Ibid., 125, 133, 155, 164, etc. 



Chap. VII] 



APPENDIX 9 



3Y7 



to whom Lucius Gary sent his regards in a letter dated July 14, 
1799.i« Nov. 9, 1800, a child, Margaret, was baptized; Sept. 7, 
1802, Charlotte, who died Nov. 13, aged 11 weeks; Oct. 28, 1803, 
Abigail; May 26, 1805, William Ratchford; Oct. 30, 1814, Sarah, 
Charlotte, Nathaniel, and Nancy. Nov. 8, 1825, Mrs. Charlotte 
Low, wife of John Low, died, aged 53 years.^^ They left the 
farm in 1802.] 

^ Gary Letters, 152. 

" Church records; gravestones at Revere. 



378 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 



APPENDIX 10 

Jan^uaey 9, 1666/7, Eichard Bellingham and Penelope his wife 
leased to John Senter, Sr., and Sarah his wife, and John Senter, 
Jr., the westerly end of Powder Horn Hill with the barns and out- 
houses then in the occupation of John Senter, Sr., bounded with 
Samuel Townsend's farm southerly ; with tlie farm of Aaron Way 
and William Ireland easterly; with Daniel Whittamore's land 
[i. c, j\Ialden] northerly ; and with Winnisimmct Farm [the Ferry 
farm] and the marsh of Richard Bellingham by the line " already 
Sett and bounded between them " westerly. Bellingham excepted 
all the wood and timber with the liberty to cut and carry away the 
same, allowing Senter sufficient for fences and other necessaries. 
The consideration was £100; the lease was for their lives, from 
March 25, 1G67, paying £10 " in merchantable pork, pease and 
barly in equall proportions at currant Merchants price " before the 
25th j\Iarch in every year; if the farm did not produce the pay, 
what fell short " in other good pay." There was to be an allow- 
ance of 12 pence the rod for stone wall 4 feet high built on the 
premises. (Acknowledged June 13, 1695.^) 

These are two of five similar receipts : - 

" Eec*^ : of Jeremiah Belcher and Sarah his wife ten pounds in 
fifty bushells of Barley & it is for the rent of the Farm w% nowe 
they liue in 19. 1. 1667/G8. Ri. Bellingham. 

" Eec'^. of Jeremiah Belcher and Sarah his wife ten pounds 
by 30 bush, of mault. by fenceinge 60 rodd w*^ a stone wall, by 
a fatt Hogge 17. 1. 68/69 Ei Bellingham." 

Of date"^ [March 25, 1672,] is seen this : ^ " WTiereas John Senter 
did owe to mee Eichard Bellingham the sum of one hundred 
pounds for a fine to lessen the rent of his farme being now but 
ten pounds by the yeare, which before was twenty two pounds 
ten shillings rent by the yeare and since Sarah his wife marled 
to Jeremiah Belcher, who hath paid since his mariage vnto mee 
Eichard Bellingham an hundred pound, the time agreed v^wn, 

^ Sufr. Deeds, L. 17, f. 77; see also L. 21, f. 22. 
' Chamborlain MSB., i. 7. 
" Mass. Archives, C. 175. 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 10 379 

which hundred pound J acknowledge my selfe to haue receiued: 
and thereof and of euery part & parcell thereof do acquit & dis- 
charge the said Jeremiah Belcher his heires executors and assignes. 
Dated the 25tb of March 1673. 

" This is a true Coppy of the receit which Eichard Belling- 
ham gaue vnto Jeremiah Belcher Witnes Jonath : Negus " 

The transaction was this: John Senter, Sr. (Center was a later 
spelling), was tenant of Governor Bellingham at £32 10s. yearly. 
In consideration of £100 the Governor reduced the rent to £10 
and extended the tenancy for the Hves of John Senter, his wife, 
and his son. Belcher married his widow, paid the fine of £100, as 
it was called, and was recognized as tenant. 

When or where Jolin Senter was bom, or at what time he 
became tenant of the Carter farm, I have not found. The 
Boston records say: * "Mary wife of John Center of Winnysim- 
met died July 25th," 1658. [" John Senter & Maiy Muzzy " were 
married by Richard Bellingham, March 27, 1656.^] John Center 
was chosen constable for Eumney Marsh, March 11, 1666/7, and 
July 15 of the same year John Smith was chosen constable " in 
the rome of John Center deceased." These entries fix approxi- 
mately the time of his death. By the recital above, it appears 
that, January 9, 1666/7, the Carter farm was in the occupation 
of " John Senter, Senr., and Sarah his wife, and John Senter, Jr." ; 
from which it may be inferred that at some time after July 25, 
1658, John Senter had a wife whose name was Sarah, and who 
as his widow became the wife of Jeremiah Belcher. Whether 
there were children of this second wife may be doubtful, though 
the records [of the First Church] say: April 22, 1666, "Sarah 
wife of John Centure " was baptized ; and May 6, " John of 
John Centure's wife," and Elizabeth, of the same, were baptized." 
By these dates it is possible to affiliate these children to John 
Center, Sr. ; but as the name of the wife of John Center, Jr., was 
also Sarah, it is more probable that they were her children. [They 
were the children of John Center, Sr., infra, p. 380.] In the same 
records are the following entries : 1682, " John of John & Sarah 
Carter, born Aug. 8 " ; and "' John of John & Sarah Center born 
Aug. 8 " ^ 1684/5, " Jonathan of John & Mary Center born Feb. 
8." « 1687, " Ellener of John & Euth Center born July 6." » 1696 

* Boston Rec. Com. Rep., ix. 66. 
» Ibid., 57. 

» Ihid., 102. 
■> Ibid., 157. 

* Ibid., 162. 

* Ibid., 173. 



380 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

(also 1G97) Jeremiah of the same horn Feb. 15.^" [In 1682 and 
in 1706, the wife of John Center, second of the name, was Ruth." 
Presumably the town clerk entered the wife's name incorrectly.] 

John Senter, Jr., held many offices at Eumney Marsh between 
1686 and 1715, after which the name disappears. In 1702 he 
is called John Senter, Sr. In the Eevere churchyard is a stone 
with this inscription : " Here lyes ye body of Ensign John 
Center, aged 46 yrs. and 8 Mo. who departed this life December 
ye 31st. 1706." This is a curiously colored stone and elaborately 
carved. It bears traces of an inscription on its reverse, but it is 
entirely illegible. If the above figures are correctly read Ensign 
Center must have been born about 1660; but the entries of births 
show no John of that year. 

In the list for 1692 at Eumney Marsh John Canter is rated by 
the Constable for 14s. ; and in 1702 John Center is on the list for 
" three heads houses and lands at thirteen pound Eent a year two 
oxen six cows forty sheep one hors one Swin." ^^ 

[In the indenture between Eichard Bellingham and John Center 
of January 9, 1666/7, cited above, the latter signed " in behalf e of 
his said Sonne John Senter Jun? being in his non age." In 1667 
Sarah Senter was appointed administrator of the estate of her 
husband John Senter.^^ She was the daughter of Edward and 
Elizabeth Weeden of Eumney Marsh," and granddaughter of 
Samuel Cole. By will the latter gave " to my grandchild Sarah 
Scenter a Coult wch is now in the possession of her Husband John 
Scenter." ^^ April 10, 1682, Jeremiah Belcher of Winnisimmet 
and his wife Sarah, John Senter and his wife Euth, and Elizabeth 
Senter conveyed to William Penney for £60 title to a house in 
Boston that Samuel Cole had conveyed to John Senter, Sr., in 
1666.^" February 22, 1685/6, Jeremiah Belcher asked the select- 
men of Boston for an " abatem* of his last towne rate beinge 12^. 
vpon consideration that he hath maintained Eliz^ Warren, 
Daughter of his wife & her Child some considerable time, & he 
promiseinge that y^ Mother or Child should not be any future 
charge to y^ towne, w^*^ was granted & agreed on." ^^ Rev. Thomas 

" Boston Rec. Com. Rep., ix. 226, 232. 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 12, f. 178; SuflF. Prob. Rec, L. 16, flf. 377, 378; 
infra, p. 382. 

" Boston Rec. Com. Rep., x. 130, 143. 

" Suff. Prob. Rec., L. 5, ff. 49, 54. 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 8, f. 51. 

" Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 1, f. 482. 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 12, f. 178; L. 5, ff. 53-55. 

" Boston Rec Com. Rep., vii. 182. 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 10 381 

Cheever married a Mrs. Elizabeth Warren, July 30, 1707. He 
married his son, Joshua Cheever, to a Sarah Warren, November 
2, 1708. Presumably they were the daughter and granddaughter 
of John Senter, Sr. According to the Boston records, Sarah, 
daughter of Ephraim and Elizabeth Warren, was born August 10, 
1G85, and Sarah, wife of Joshua Cheever, died January 26, 1723/4, 
aged 37. According to the gravestone at Eevere, Elizabeth, wife 
of Eev. Thomas Cheever, died May 10, 1727, aged 64. 

Jeremiah Belcher was the son of Jeremiah Belcher^* (presum- 
ably the Jeremy Belcher who, aged 22, came to Boston in 1635 on 
the same ship with Edward W^eden, aged 22, and settled in Ips- 
wich, and whose son Samuel graduated from Harvard in 1659.) 
Jeremiah Belcher served as constable in 1672 and 1679, and as 
surveyor of roads in 1678, 1686, and 1687. In 1674 he was one 
of the smaller taxpayers at Eumney Marsh, also in 1676. In 1687 
the property listed was equally divided between Jeremiah Belcher 
and his step-son, John Senter. Each had two pair of oxen, seven 
head of cattle, one hog, and ten sheep. Jeremiah Belcher had a 
horse and colt, and John Senter two horses. Each paid the same 
tax for land and housing. The following year Jeremiah Belcher 
was a tenant pf Samuel Sewall on Hog Island.^** October 1, 1697, 
Judge Sewall described in his diary an interesting visit made 
by himself and family to the farm there, including the bill of 
fare. In 1702 Jeremiah Belcher purchased a farm of 200 acres 
in the Chelsea Pan-handle, apparently for the benefit of his 
three sons, Joseph, Edward, and Ebenezer, who were in possession 
thereof in 1708.-« His wife Sarah died January 20, 1716/17. He 
died February 6, 1722/3, aged 81 years 6 months.-^ Their children 
as recorded at Boston were : 

Jeremiah, b. Oct. 31, 1668; bapt. in the First Church on the 2Sth day 
of the 12th month (Feb. 28, 1668/9). 
Edward, b. Feb. 14, 1669/70. 
Sarah, b. Feb. 23, 1671/2. April 14, 1672, "a child of sister Belshur 

'* In June, 1722, Jeremiah Belcher of Boston petitioned the General 
Court that a grant of 300 acres made to his father, Jeremiah Belcher, 
May 11, 1659, be laid out by motes and bounds. November 17 the petition 
was granted. December 21 Jeremiah Belcher executed a deed of gift to 
his son, Joseph, who sold the same to Elisha Cooke, January 4, 1723/4. 
Province Laws, x. (Resolves, 1720-1725), 220; Suff., Deeds, L. 37, ff. 
152, 153. 

" Boston Rec. Com. Rep., i. 145. 

="> Suff. Deeds, L. 21, ff. 1-3, 50; L. 24, ff. 166, 167 ; also sujira, p. 281. 

^ Boston record of deaths (MSS. ) ; gravestone at Revere. According 
to the Boston records he died January 6, 1722/3, aged 81. 



382 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

of Rumney Marsh or Wenysement " was baptized. Presumably she was 
married to Abner Dole of Newbury Jan. 5, 1098/9, by Rev. Thomas Cheever. 

Nathaniel, b. Oct. 27, 1G73. 

Joseph, bapt. June 6, 1075; m. Jan. 7, 1697/8, Hannah, daughter of 
Jonathan Bill of Fallen Point ;=* d. Nov. 15, 1739, aged 04." 

Rebecca, b. April 11, 1G77; d. April 21, 1099. 

Ebenezer, b. Feb. 21, 1078/9. 

John (2) Center remained on the farm at Winnisimmet after 
his stepfather, Jeremiali Belcher, moved to Hogg Island. He 
served as constable in 1686 and 1703, and as surveyor of high- 
ways in 1691, 1692, and 1704. He died in 1706.-^" His widow 
Euth was married to Joseph Wright by Eev. Cotton Mather, 
Feb. 9, 170T/8, and died Feb. 18, 1717, aged 60.^5 Feb. 7, 
1691/2, Euth, wife of John (2) Center, joined the North Church 
in Boston. Its pastor baptized the following children: Euth, 
May 15, 1692; Sarah, July 20, 1695; Jeremiah, June 20, 1697. 
Eight children shared in the distribution of the estate of Ensign 
John Center, John, the eldest, Jonathan, the second son, Eliza- 
beth (married presumably to Jacob Wright by Eev. Cotton 
Mather, December 24, 1708), Eliner, Mehetabel (married pre- 
sumably to John Bailey by Eev. Thomas Cheever, August 31, 
1714), Euth (married possibly Joseph Burn in 1726), ^^ Sarah, 
and Jeremiah." The widow Euth and the son John were appointed 
administrators.^^ 

John (3) Center, son of John and Euth Center, married Euth 
Wright of Woburn about 1708.^^ The following children of John 
and Euth Center were recorded at Boston : Euth, Jan. 19, 1710/11 ; 
John, Feb. 25, 1712/13; Joseph, Aug. 5, 1715; Samuel and 
Solomon, twins, Dec. 29, 1717. He held minor to^^Ti offices in 
1713 and 1715, and is mentioned as tenant of the farm in Ma}--, 
1716.^° The lease from Governor Bellingham lapsed on the death 
of his grandmother, Sarah Belcher, January 20, 1716/17. Pre- 
sumably he was the John Center who, according to Wyman, came 
to Charlestown from Biddeford in 1726, bringing with him four 
sons, John, Samuel, Solomon, and Joseph. John Whittemore was 
mentioned as tenant in June, 1728.^^ As John Whittemore, Jr., 

*=• Sewall, Diary, i. 475, March 23, 1697/8. 

^ Gravestone at Revere. For his son Joseph, see supra, p. 205. 

"* Supra, p. 380. 

^'' Savage, Gen. Diet., 350. 

^° Boston Rec. Coin. Rep., xxviii. 162. 

" See supra, p. 379, for the record of births. 

=» SufT. Prob. Rec, L. 16, ff. 230, 231. 

" Intention filed at Boston December 2, 1708. Rec. Com. Rep., xxviii. 31. 

«» Suflr. Deeds, L. 30, f. 161. 

»' Ibid., L. 42, ff. 215, 210. 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 10 383 

he was an officer in the district in 1732 and 1723, and was con- 
stable in 1724. The following inventories and accounts illustrate 
life on a Winnisimmet farm in the seventeenth century, 

July the : 18th 16G7. 
An Jnuentory ^- of the Estate of John Scentek deceased taken by 

VS WHOSE names ABE SUBSCRIBED: 

li : s : d 

Jmprs 12 swine & 2 small piggs 012 : 03 : 00 

Jt : 32 : sheepe & Lambs 12li 16s, H : Cowes 401i, 1 Bull 

2 10 055 : OG : 00 

Jt : 2 yeareling bullocks & 2 heifers 61i 10s, 2 : oxen 12Ii . . 018 : 10 : 00 

Jt : 2 : oxen & a Cow 1511, a horse 6H, a mare 411 025 : 00 : — 

Jt : a featherbed boalster 2 pillowes, & pillowbers, 2 ruggs a 

bedsted Curtaines & uallance Oil : 00 

Jt : wearing cloathes hatt bootes shoes gloues & chest . . . 005 : 00 

Jt : 2 old ruggs an old feather boalster 3 quishions .... 000 : 12 

Jt : a fann Us, Cotton & linnen yarne 18s, sole leather 12s . 001 : 16 

Jt : a chest 4s^ a parcell of books 211 002 : 04 

Jt : 4 shirts 2 bands 2 Caps & a pare of drawers 001 : 10 

Jt : 3 : pare of sheets & a pare of pillowbeers 002 : 00 

Jt : 4 : Table napkins & 11 : Course towells 000 : 12 

Jt : 16 : peeces of pewter & 2 Earthen dishes 001 : 10 

Jt : a smoothing jron grater & stone jugg 000 : 04 

Jt : an howre glass 000 : 00 : 06 

Jt : a Cubbert a table 2 joynt stooles & 4 chayres 000 : 15 

Jt : a lanthorne 000 : 03 

Jt : a trunck bedsted bed, 3 pillowes an old blancket & rugg 001 : 05 
Jt : a musquet & sword 111 10s, a match-lock musquett & 

sword 10s 002 : 00 : — 

Jt : 2 jron potts an jron skillet a frying pann, a pr of pot- 
hooks 2 trammells, a spitt a pr of tonges a flesh fork . 001 : 12 
Jt : a brass kettle 311, a small kettle & warming pann lH 8s 004 : 08 

Jt : a scuramer & little skillet 000 : 03 

Jt : a brass pann a tunnell & plate pann 001 : 05 

Jt : 2 wheeles 8s, 2 beere uessells 3s 000 : 11 

Jt : a churne milke uessells pailes & other wooden ware . . 002 : 00 

Jt : a siluer spoone & an old whissell OOO : 10 

Jt : 7 spookes [spoons?] 2 glass bottles & a peper box . . . 000 : 04 

Jt : a saddle & bridle 000 : 10 

Jt : 5 : jron wedges 2 pickaxes & an jron Crow 001 : 00 

Jt : 3 . pare of fetters 10s, 3 plow chaines IH 4s 001 : 14 

Jt : an old plow shaire Coulter & other old jron 000 : OS 

Jt : 3 : Augers a hammer chissell drawing knife a wimble 

perser, a handsaw : 5 old Axes & 5 howes 000 : 10 : — 

Jt : one pitchforke & 2 rakes 5s, a plow & jrons 10s .... 000 : 15 : — 
Jt : a Cart wheels 4 wheele boards, 13 yoakes cleuis & Cart- 
rope 003 : 00 : — 

Jt : a looking glass Is, a fowling peece 211, a stone. Cart & 

sled 003 : 06 : — 

'^ SufT. Prob. Rec, L. 5, f. 49. 



384 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

Jt : 2 : yards % : of kersey & a Card of buttons 001 : 00 : — 

Jt : 2 Calues Hi, 2 scithes & sneads 10s, a pare of Cards 2s . 001 : 12 : 00 

Jt : 8 : head of yong Cattle at Willis his Hill 024 : 00 : 00 

Jt : Corne standing in the feild with hemp & flax 030 : 00 : 00 

Jt : a seruant 3 yeares yet to serue OOG : 00 : 00 

Jt : a house & Land at Boston 050 : 00 : 00 

Jt : in woole 311, a parcell of bees Hi 004 : 00 : 00 

279 : 18 : 06 
The interest in that Tennement wch lyeth at powder home 
hill for the tearme of two Hues vizt Sarah Scenter & 
her sonn John Scenter as by the lease Appeareth . . . 150 : 00 : 00 
Elias Mauerick Augst the First : 1C67 

Samuell Danes Sarah Senter deposed that this is a true Jnuen- 

Aaron cxd Way tory of hir late husband John Senters Estate 

William Ireland to her best knowledge that when shee knowes 

more shee will diseouer it 

Edw : Rawson Reeordr 

An Inventory ^^ of the Estate of John Center Sexr late of Win- 

NISIMITT DECED APPRIZED BY JONATHAN BiLL, JeR BeLCHER AND 

PuiNEAS Upham. — Vizt — 

Imprs To Wearing Apparrel f 14 " 8 " — 

To Beds, Bedsteds, Beding &c 33 « 7 « _ 

To Buckles & Chains, Plate I " 3 " 7 

To a Gun, sword, Cartoueh box and belt 2 " 12 " — 

To Drum Drum sticks &e I " 16 " — 

To 2 hatts & a pr of Bootes 1 « _ « _ 

To 3 old Chests 8/. 14t Cotten & a pr of Cards 22/ ... . 1 « 10 « — 

Husbandry and Carpentry Tools, Cart &c 12" 10" — 

Pewter 41/. Brass 46/. Iron and Tin Ware 40/ 8" 8" — 

Bed & Table Linnen & 3 Single Blanketts 6 " 19 " — 

Wooden Ware & Doz . Glass Bottles 2 " .4 " — 

Tables & a Chest 10/. Punch Bowie, scales & Weights 14/ 1 " 18" — 

Chairs 30/. A Negro boy 21t Books 14/. Cash 26T . . . 49" .4" _ 

Cattle, horses. Oxen, Cows, steers, hbggs & Sheep &c . . 86 " .6 " — 

Horse Tackle and Furniture .3 " .2 " — 

Boat with 2 Roads & Anchors .9 " 6 " — 

Sheeps Wool, Cotten, Cards, Sole Leather & Bagg .... .4 " 19 " — 

Signd £ " 239 " 13 " 7 

Barley, flax & a Grindston Ruth cD Center, 

not Apprized. John Center 

Suffolk ss./. 
The Accompt ^* of Ruth Center Widow & John Center son, & Adminbs 
of the Estate of John Center late of Winnisimett House- 
wright deced./. 

The srt Accomptants Chargeth themselves wth all & Singu- 
lar the Goods, Chattels, Rights & Credits of the s^ 

" Presented to the court by Ruth Center, widow, and her son John 
Center, January 21, 1706/7. Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 16, f. 230. 
^ Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 16, f. 377. 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 10 385 

deeed, Amo as by the Invry thereof Exhibited, Ap- 
pears to ye Sum of £239 " 13 " 7 

Jt . With money Rec'd of sevrl prsons for Debts oweing 

to ye deed 25 " 10 " 8 

40 Bushls of Barley £6 " 13 " 4. 40? Bill of Credit 40? . , 8 " 13 " 4 

20 Bushls of Gates 30s . SOU Flax 30/. A Grindstone 5/. . 3 " 5 " — 

£277" .2" 7 
And Pray's Allowance of ys Several 
Debts & Charges, by them paid, Vizt — 
Abatemt out of the Inventory of 23? for 2 sheep & a Sheet 

given in that did not belong to ye Estate £ .1 " .3 " — 

Pd for Lettr of Admincon Jnventory &c — " 12 " — 

Pd Funeral Charges £9 " 2 " 1. Pd to Doctr Clark 22/. . 10" .4" 1 

P"d to Doctr Bumsted 48/. Pd to Tho? Pratt for a Sheep 6/. 2 " 14 " — 

Pd Mr Rashly 5d Pd John Whittemore 2/ " .2 " 5 

To Jos : Belcher for Suiiiering a Cow — " 5 " — 

To Jona Bill for I Cows hire C/7d To Danl Whittemore 

l/6d " 8 " 1 

To Jacob Wenslow 6d To Phinneas Upham 9? lid . . . — " 10 " 5 

To Jer: Belcher for Rent 23/. Joha Eustice 5? 1 " .8 " — 

Edmd Needham 4/. Jos: Bill 10/. Isaac Lewis 6/. ... l"_"_ 
Tho? Townsend 3/2d David Cole 20s. Jona Eustice Con- 
stable iov Rates 42/. Edwd Watts in pt of 2 Years 

Rent 15Ii ' 18 " .5 " 2 

Tho? Gyles 22 s. 4d John Pratt 40/. Samtt Wording 8/s . 3 " 10 " 4 
Samuel Jenks 12/. John Langdon 3/Od John Brentnal 

2/6d _«18" — 

Doctr Morris 8/4d To ye Accomptant John Center a Debt 

30/" ..." 1 " 18 " 4 

To the Admr? for their Expences 2 " — " — 

To Drawing, Allowing & Registring this Accot " 8 " — 

£277" 2" 7 Ruth^C)'^ Center— f 45 " ,6 " 10 

45 " 6 " 10 John Center — 

' Rests £231 "15" 9 

Distribution ^^ of if Estate of John Center late of 
Winisimett dcced 

Suffolk, ss./. 

By the Hon^^'^ Jsaae Addington Esq? Judge of Probate &c. 
Jt Appearing to me by the Accompt of Euth Center Widow 
& John Center . . . that the Surplusage or Eemaining Goods 
& Chattels of y*' deeed; Debts, funeral & just Expences being 
Allowed, Amounts to Two hundred thirty One pounds, fifteen 
shill? & Nine pence to be Distributed to the Widow & Children, 
Jonath° Center the Second Son haveing had Eight pounds already 
Advanced to him by y^ Said deeed in his Life time towards his 
portion upon Marriage. — 

'' Suff. Prob. Ree., L. 16, f. 378. 
VOL. I. — 25 



386 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

Pursuant Therefore to the Act or Law, For the Setling and 
Distribution of the Estates of Jntestates, and the Power and 
Authority to me thereby given, J Do Order the Distribution of 
the s^ Sum of Two hundred thirty one pounds, fifteen shiil^. & 
Nine Pence in manner following, That is to say. To Ruth, Widow 
of the Intestate forever Seventy Seven pounds, five shill? & three 
pence for her Third part thereof. To John Center Thirty Six 
pounds Two shill? & four Pence for his double Portion, And to 
Jonath° Center £10 " 1 " 2. And to Elizabeth, Eliner, Mehetabel, 
Ruth, Sarah, and Jeremiah, Eighteen pounds one shilling & two 
pence each being their Single parts & portions of their s^ Fathers 
Estate. And that the sO Adm'"? pay the s"? Seven Children, or their 
respective Guardians their Several Portions accordingly. Each of 
them to give Bond w*^ Surety's as the Law directs, if Debts 
aftenv^s l^g made to Appear, to Refund & Pay back to y^ Admin^? 
their Ratable parts thereof, & of the Adm'"? Charges. Dated at 
Boston the Fourth day of February Anno Dni 1707-8. 

Is? Addington] 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 11 337 



APPENDIX 11 

Farm of Daniel Watts 

[September 27, 1739, Daniel Watts conveyed to Benjamin 
Blaney twelve acres of land. September 9, 17-10, Benjamin Blaney 
and his wife Abigail mortgaged f®r £100 in Manufactory Bills 
eight acres of upland with four acres of salt marsh adjoining 
thereto, both on the south side of the road from Winnisimmet to 
Maiden; bounded east and south on Daniel Watts by a wall and a 
ditch cut through the marsh to the creek ; thence by the creek to 
Maiden line; by Maiden line to the road.^ February 28, 1792, 
Benjamin Blane}^ and Hannah his wife conveyed the marshland, 
then estimated as five acres lying " within the Dyke " of Island End 
River, to Dr. Samuel Danforth for £50 lawful money.^ December 
27, 1803, Benjamin and Hannah Blaney sold seven acres of upland 
to Joseph and William Heard of Boston. This was bounded 
north by the highw^ay; west by Whittemore, i.e., Maiden line; 
south by marsh of Dr. Samuel Danforth, a ditch dividing said 
upland from said marsh; and east by land of Dr. Danforth.^ 
In 1816 William Heard conveyed his right therein to Joseph 
Heard.* It is marked on Hopkins' Atlas as the Heard estate. 

At the death of Hon. Samuel Watts the house and land of.' 
Daniel Watts were divided between Dr. Edward Watts and Mrs.. 
Samuel Danforth. The former sold his portion to Moses Collins, 
March 13, 1773. On August 9, 1774, Moses Collins of Maiden 
conveyed to Dr. Samuel Danforth the western portion of the 
house and 19 acres, it being the land bought of Dr. Edward Watts 
except 16 acres of upland next Mr. Whittemore's on the west side 
of the road, i. e., west of Washington Avenue, and 22 acres of 
marsh " in the blown country." ^ March 3, 1792, Moses Collins 
and his wife Lydia conveyed to Danforth for £136 lawful money, 
13 acres of marshland, it being part of the 22 acres in the "blown 
Country " purchased of Dr. Edward Watts, " and is the whole 

^ Suff. Deeds, L. GO, f. 76. 

=> Ibid., L. 172, f. 128. 

^ Ibid., L. 207, f. 202. 

* Ibid., L. 252, ff. 43, 45; also L. 381, f. 140. 

» Ibid., L. 12G, f. 139. 



3S8 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

of mv right in said purchase of twenty two Acres." " "When the 
direct tax of 1T98 was assessed, . the sixteen acres of upland 
excepted in the conveyance to Samuel Danforth in 1774, were 
owned by Moses Collins and improved by Joseph Sergeant. They 
were valued at $320, and were bounded south on the town road 
(to Maiden); west on the "County Line"; north on Daniel 
I'ratt; and east on the town road (to L}Tin). February 16, 1803, 
jMoses Collins of Chelsea M-ith his wife Hannah conveyed to Thomas 
AVilliams of I*^oddle's Island for $1200, sixteen acres of upland 
bounded northwest by Moses Collins, northeast by Daniel Pratt; 
southeast and southwest by the road leading to Boston over jMaldcn 
Bridge; also 2% acres of salt marsh. March 19 Thomas "Wil- 
liams conveyed the same to Samuel Danforth.'^ By this and other 
purcbases Dr. Samuel Danforth acquired the whole of the Daniel 
AVatts farm, except the Heard estate, and all the marshland of the 
Ferry farm north of Island End Eiver. A list of his purchases 
follows : 

August 9, 1774, from Moses Collins, 49 acres of tlie portion of Dr. 

Edward Watts in the Daniel Watts farm (L. 126, f. 139). 
Scjit. 16, 1788, from Mary Harris for £15, 7 acres of niarsli (L. 163, f. 190) ; 

sold to Aaron Dexter, Sept. 27 (L. 167, f. 257). 
July 3, 1790, from Samuel (3) Watts, 36 acres of marsh for £175 os. 9d. 

(L. 168, f. 67). 
Nov. 6, 1790, from Mrs. Ann Hough, 6 acres of marsh for £36 lawful 

money (L. 168, f. 233). 
Feb. 28, 1792, from Benjamin Blaney, 5 acres of marsh for £50 lawful 

money (L. 172, f. 128). 
March 3, 1792, from Moses Collins, 13 acres, the marsh in the " l)lo\^ni 

country," for £136 lawful money (L. 172, f. 129). 
March 6, 1792, from :\rrs. Ann Hough. 6 acres of marsh (L. 172, f. 128). 
March 13, 1792, from Isaac Smith, 9 acres of marsh for £90 (L. 172, 

f. 148). This was a part of the marsh sold by the executors of the 

estate of Hon. Samuel Watts. (SufT. Deeds, L. 138, f. 62: Suff. Prob. 

Rec, L. 71, f. 295.) 
May 15, 1793, Saimiel Danfortli and Aaron Dexter exchanged 7 acres of 

marsh, Danforth conveying title to 7 acres south of the creek, and 

Doxter to the 7 acres north thereof which Mary Harris had conveyed 

to Danforth, and Danforth to Dexter, in 1788 (L. 176, f. 41 ; L. 177, 

f. 28). 
Oct. 29, 1798, Danforth made a similar exchange of marshland with 

H. H. Williams, conveying title to a parcel of land south of Island 

End River, and receiving title to a parcel north thereof (L. 191, 

IT. 205, 209). 
March 19, 1803, from Thomas Williams, 16 acres of upland and 2 "4 acres 

of marsh for $1200 (L. 205, f. 47). 

" SufT. Deeds. L. 172, f. 129. 
' Ibid., L. 205, f. 47. 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 11 380 

When the direct tax of 1798 was assessed, Samuel Danforth 
owned a farm of two hundred eight and one half acres. The house 
covered 1140 feet, was of two stories, with twenty- two windows, 
was " Verry old," and with half an acre of land and a wood 
house was valued at $4:-J:0. Two hundred and eight acres of upland 
and marsh, with three barns, a shed, and a corn barn were ap- 
praised at $4027.75. Nathaniel Chittenden was the tenant. Pre- 
sumably John xVdams was tenant in 1791. According to the 
records of the selectmen, Feb. 16, 1789, Adams came from Med- 
ford with a wife Lydia and nine children. 

October 16, 1813, Samuel Danforth conveyed to Thomas Furber 
his lands in Chelsea and Maiden. Of the land sold (1) 159 acres 
lay south of the road from Winnisimmet to Maiden, between the 
road and Island End Eiver; with the lands of H. H. Williams 
(the Ferry farm) southeast, and Joseph Heard and Maiden line 
west. (2) Fifty-two acres lay north and east of the road from 
Winnisimmet to Lynn or, as it is called in this conveyance, the 
road to Chelsea meeting-house. Beginning at the angle of the road 
from the ferry, near Mr. Cary's gate, the boundary line of this 
parcel ran northwest by that road to the corner where the road to 
Maiden diverged from the road to Chelsea meeting-house, near 
which corner the mansion house stood; thence northeast by the 
road to Chelsea meeting-house to the land of Edward and Caleb 
Pratt, " where there is a small brook " ; thence by said Pratt and 
Aaron Hall and Samuel Pratt, to the land of Mr. Cary; thence 
south to the angle of the road near the gate. (3) Twenty-eight 
acres lay in Chelsea and Maiden north of the road to Maiden, and 
west of the road to Chelsea meeting-house. Beginning at the angle 
of the above roads, which was nearly opposite the mansion house, 
the line followed the road to Maiden, crossing the county line to 
the land of Joseph Whittemore ; thence north by said Whittemore 
to Edward and Caleb Pratt; east by said Pratt, recrossing the 
county line, to the road to Chelsea meeting-house; south by said 
road to the corner first mentioned. Several parcels of land in 
Maiden were conveyed by the same deed.^ 

February 24, 1820, Thomas Furber mortgaged all the marsh- 
land in Chelsea owned by him to the Directors of the Massachu- 
setts Bank.^ It was bounded north by upland of Joseph and 
William Hurd and upland of said Furber; southeast by a ditch 
between it and the marsh of the heirs of H. H. Williams 
deceased; on all other sides by the creek and river. This land, 

» Suff. Deeds, L. 243, f. 14. 
• Ibid., L. 2G6, f. 2G4. 



300 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

known as the Furber marsh, passed in 1844 and 1845 to the 
Winnisimnict Company. Thus of Samuel Danforth's farm only. 
3G acres of upland lay south of the road from Winnisimmet Ferry 
to Maiden (Washington Avenue). The following further descrip- 
tion is given in a mortgage in 1820.^" Beginning at the corner 
of Mr. Heard's land on the County road (near the two roads lead- 
ing to Chelsea meeting-house and Maiden) the boundary followed 
the road till it met land late belonging to H. H. Williams near 
the Salem Turnpike ; then it ran by land of Williams to the Dyke 
Marsh ; then by the edge of the marsh to the land of ]\Ir. Heard ; 
then by Heard's land to the first mentioned bound in the road. 
It contained a large orchard. 

Joshua Carter owned all the upland of the Daniel Watts farm, 
except the Heard estate, but owned none of the marshland.^^ 
William B. Eeynolds, administrator of the estate of Joshua Carter, 
petitioned the Probate Court for permission to sell at public 
auction the farm in Chelsea and Maiden, then estimated to 
contain about 120 acres, and a lot of upland (about 1700 ft.) 
on Maiden Street in Chelsea Village; permission was granted 
January 28, 1850.^- The property continued in the possession 
ot the heirs. January 1, 1851, 5.846 acres north of Washington 
Avenue were conveyed to Kasimir Vogel, silk manufacturer. The 
lot was boimded on the southwest 534 feet by Washington Avenue; 
northwest 655 feet by the Carter estate; east 345 feet by the 
Cary estate; southeast 630 feet by the Cary estate.^^ Yogel estab- 
lished a silk manufactor}' there. 

Forty-eight acres one hundred eleven rods, with the mansion 
house of Joshua Carter, were conveyed to the Chelsea Highland 
Company in 1856.^* This, with the land conveyed to Vogel, was 
all of parcel number (2) in the deed from Samuel Danforth.] 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 2G7, f. 6G; also a plan, L. 589, f. 304; L. 653, f. 170. 

" Sit pro , p. 317. 

'- Suff. Prob. Rec., L. 351, flf. 98, 238. 

» Sufr. Deeds, L. 616, f. 101; plan, L. 650, f. 274. 

" Ibid., L. 703, f. 1. 



Chap. VII] APPENDIX 12 391 



APPENDIX 12 

[1. Plan of the Ferry farm, S. P. Fuller, surveyor, January, 
1830. Suff. Deeds, L. 351, f. 153. Gives the site of the tavern, 
mansion house, and barns, the line between the upland and the 
marsh. 

2. Plan of the Ferry farm, Alexander Wadsworth, surveyor, 
July 18, 1831. L. 354, f. 248. 

3. Plan of the Shurtleff farm by Nathl. Shurtleff, August 17, 
1829. L. 393, f. 185. Gives the site of the house and barns, the 
line between upland and marsh and the division of the fields. 

4. Plan of Winnisimmet, Alonzo Lewis, surveyor, 1836. L. 
410, end. The Ferry and Shurtleff farms divided into building 
lots. 

5. Plan of the lands of the Winnisimmet Co. in Chelsea and 
Maiden, J. H. Shearer, engineer, 1846. Suff. Plan Books, i. 20, 
25 ; ii. 37. Same corrected 1850 by John Fenno, Suff. Deeds, 
L. 616, end; Plan Books, iii. 19. Gives the outline of the creeks, 
and the division line between upland and marsh. 

6. Plan of the Hotel Estate by Alonzo Lewis, 1855. Suff. Plan 
Books, i. 12; ibid, by John Low, 1853. Suff. Deeds, L. 652, end. 
Plan of lots between Broadway and Medford Street by John 
Cunningham. L. 731, f. 144. A detail of the Ferry farm. 

7. Plan of Mount Bellingham, Alonzo Lewis, surveyor, July, 
1835. L. 393, end. Detail of Shurtleff farm. Plan of Mount 
Bellingham, presumably according to a survey by Alonzo Lewis, 
Suff. Plan Books, i. 11. Gives site of Shurtleff house. 

8. Plan of Garden Cemetery, surveyed by David Gould and John 
Low, 1844. L. 517, f. 302. Detail of Shurtleff farm. 

9. Plan of the United States Marine Hospital Land by Alonzo 
Lewis, October 16, 1835. 24 Cong. 1 sess. House Doc. 18. Gives 
site of Shurtleff house. 

10. Plan of the United States Marine Hospital Estate by B. S. 
Alexander, April 2, 1857. Suff. Deeds, L. 718, end. 

11. Proposed plan of the estate of the Cary Improvement Co. 
in Chelsea, 1849. Boston Public Libr., No. 13 in *Map 94. 3. 

12. Assessors' plan of Caryville, 1875, by Joseph E. Carr, Jr. 
Suff. Plan Books, iv. 16 A and 16 B. 



392 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VII 

13. Plan giving site of Gary house. Siiff. Deeds, L. 642, f. 89. 

14. Plan of Road from Chelsea Free Bridge to Salem Turn- 
pike, E. H. Eddy, engineer, December 2, 1835, drawn by H. W. 
^Yilson, C. E. Suff. Deeds, L. 405, f. 192. Gives point of division 
between the marsh and the upland on the line of the road. 

15. Plan of the Salem Turnpike, Essex Co. Court Records, 
Salem. Gives the points where the line between marsh and upland 
in the Cary farm, and where the boundaries of the Cary, Shurtleff, 
Williams, and Dexter farms crossed the road. 

16. Plan of land of Joshua Carter south of Washington Avenue 
by John Low, May, 1848. Suff. Deeds, L. 589, f. 304. Gives 
site of the Carter house. 

17. Plan showing the division line between the marsh and 
upland, and the line between the lands of the heirs of Joshua 
Carter and lands of the Winnisimmet Co. ; also the plan of the 
streets mutually agreed upon, by John Low, 1853. L. 653, f. 170. 

18. Plan of the estate of Kasimir Vogel, July 13, 1853. Suff. 
Deeds, L. 650, f. 274. 

19. Plan of Chelsea Highlands by George B. Parrott, 1856, 
L. 743, end; ibid, by John Cunningham, October 31, 1860. 
L. 840, end; ibid, by Joseph E. Carr, Jr., Jan. 1, 1872. L. 1092, 
end; ibid, by Carr, June 22, 1882. L. 1567, f. 453, etc.] 



Chap. VIII] GOVERNOR BELLINGHAil'S WILL 393 



CHAPTER VIII 

GOVEKNOR BELLINGHAm's WILL ' 

THE Winnisiinmet farms formed that part of Governor 
Bellingham's estate which, in 1672, he devised to trus- 
tees for the pious uses of tiie people there. But his will was 
contested; and the strife, beginning in the Colony in 1672, 
was renewed under the Province, and only settled under the 
State in 1787, — a period of one hundred fifteen years. It 
divided the clergy, was a factor in local politics, and influenced 
parties during the Revolutionary "War. IsTor was the contest 
confined to this side of the Atlantic; for at one stage the will 
received the construction of William Cowper, afterwards Lord 
Chancellor of England, and at another the decision of Sir 
Nathan Wright, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal.^ This case, 
unique in its duration and full of local affairs, presents, as 
none other does, an almost unbroken line of judicial proceed- 
ings in Massachusetts for more than a century; but I have 
been seriously embarrassed in determining the best way of 
telling its story. After several unsatisfactory attempts to set 
forth the substance of the various documents comprised in it 
(in which process it is impossible to retain many facts inciden- 
tally given but of great value), I have finally concluded to 
give these documents in full and allow them to tell their ovm 
story.^ 

THE WILL 

Among many other vndeserved favors of God towards me, this is 
none the least, That for so long a tyme I haue lived vnder the 

* [The legal opinion of William Cowper, and the decision of Sir Nathan 
Wright, though they affected the estates of Governor Bellingham, were 
upon the will of Mrs. Elizabeth Bellingham, wife of Samuel Bellingham, 
son and heir of Governor Bellingham. Infra, pp. 513-521.] 

^ The original will, though known to Samuel Sewall, has disappeared; 
but it was recorded, and during the litigation several certified copies were 
made for use both here and in England. I print from one of these with 
supplementary matter from others. 



394 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Cuap. VIII 

speciall Goverment of Christ in his Church, not without some 
soule satisfaction through the gracious presence of christ who 
hath walked in the midst of these Churches which I iudge haue 
been constituted according to his mind. That I may testifie the 
Ingagement of my heart to the Lord, being now of pfect memory 
and vnderstanding I doe dispose of my temporall estate where- 
with the Lord hath blessed me by this my last will and testament, 
viz' I doe give to my beloved wife the rent of that farme Nicholas 
Eice liveth in, to be paid her duely after my decease as also my 
dwelling house with the yard and feild adioyneing during her 
naturall life, to my oncly sonne ^ and his daughter during their 

' Sainuc'l Bellingham came ovor with his father in 1634. He was of 
the first chiss of Harvard College, in 1642, and at Rowley next year, but 
soon went to Europe, studied at Leyden, where he took his degree of 
M.D. Sometime, with his wife Lucy, he was at Rowley with his uncle 
William (brother of the Governor), who dying without issue left the most 
of his estate to his nephew. His daughter fjlizabeth is said to have been 
born in London, in or near which he afterwards resided. [In 1650 he 
was in New England and sold land at Rowley inherited from his uncle 
(N. E. Ilist. and Gen. Reg., xi.x. 107). Of his eight classmates at Harvard 
six migrated to England (Sibley, Harvard Graduates). Affairs there were 
then especially propitious for this. Nathaniel Mather wrote: " 'T is a nocon 
of mighty great and high respect to have been a New-English man, 'tis 
enough to gayne a man very much respect yea almost any prefermt." (4 
Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc, viii. 4.) June 30, 16G0, Samuel Bcllingiiam desig- 
nated himself as " of the Parish of Merton in the County of Surrey Gent." 
Thus he was living eight miles southwest of London at the restoration of 
Charles II. Within a few months he left England for Holland, as October 
12, 1661, Francis Willoughby wrote thither from London requesting the 
repayment of iifty pounds loaned in 1660, and complaining of his silence 
" after eight or ten monthes absence wth a departure wthout frinds knowl- 
edge." He left behind in England a son, Samuel, who died before May, 1668; 
also " goods books and papers," which, in the hands of a merchant, Mr. 
Brookes, who " had received them in order to send them " to him, were lost 
in the great fire of London in 1666. (N. E. Hist, and Gen. Reg., vii. 187; 
infra, p. 475.) While on the continent he studied medicine at Leyden. 
In 1070 he executed a power of attorney at Amsterdam. In August, 1678, 
he wrote from Bremen in Germany. March 30, 16S2, Richard Wharton 
mentioned " Bremen in Germany from whence mr Bellingliam had retired 
himselfe," and called it a " remote retirement." Mrs. Penelope Bellingliam 
sought news of iiim in Germany in February, 1689/90, but had apparently 
no knowledge of his whereabouts in November, 1693. When he entered 
into a marriage contract with the widow Elizabeth Savage, March 30, 1(>95, 
he was "of the Parish of St Ann Westminster," England. Samuel Scwall, 
through his cousin and frequent correspondent, Edward Hull, one of tiie 
trustees under the marriage settlement, heard of this soon after, and wrote 
to Samuel Bellingham December 23, 1695: "1 am glad to hear of your 
return to your native Land again, and of the change of Affairs in England 
that encouraged you so to doe." Sewall's Letter-Book in 6 Coll. Mass. Hist. 
Soc, L 158.) J 



Chap. VIII] GOVERNOR BELLINGHAJ^I'S WILL 395 

naturall lives I give the farme, Leift* John Smith is tenant in, 
THE other twoe farmes wherein John Belcher and Goodman 
Townsend are Tenants I doe give the rents of them towards the 
releife of fower Daughters of Coll William Goodrick •* so long as 
they shall haue vrgent need (to he paid to their certayne Atturney 
here and by him sent to the eldest sister to dispose it for their 
use) and to pay my debts and other Legacies; allso I doe freely 
and willingly dispose & give (after mine and my wives decease) 
The farme she hath during her life (and after the decease of my 
Sonne and his daughter) my whole estate in AVinisimett to be an 
annuall in-couragement to som godly ministers and preachers, 
and such as may be such, who shalbe by my Trustees Judged faith- 
full to those principles in Church discipline which are owned and 
practised in the first Church of Christ in Boston of which I am 
a member : A mayne one whereof That all Ecclesiasticall Juris- 
diction is comitted by Christ to each particuler organicall Church 
from which there is no appeale visible saintship being the matter 
and exprcsse covenanting the forme of the Church.® ffor the reg- 
uler disposeing this Estate according to my true intention I doe 

* For his relation to the Goodrick familj' see " The Townshend Fam- 
ily," 51. [See N. E. Gen. Reg., vii. 18G, 187, for three letters from these 
nieces showing that they were in straightened circumstances and desirous 
of help from their uncle. In 1G68 Frances, Sarah, and Elizabeth were 
living in York; Mary was the wife of JMatthew Elwald, keeper of a 
" Scriviners Shopp neere the Pumpe in Chancery lane, London."] 

° [According to the account of .James Allen (infra, pp. 399, 540) the in- 
ception of the will was at the height of the strife between the First and 
Third churches in Boston when the First Church was unreconciled to the 
withdrawal of some of its members to form the Third Church, and 
especially would not admit that an ecclesiastical council had power of 
control over the matter. Governor Bellingham strongly supported the 
First Church. In July, 1669, in his ofTicial capacity as Governor he 
summoned the magistrates to consider " a sudden tumult, some persons 
attempting to set up an edifice for public worship, which was appre- 
hended by authority to be detrimental to the public peace." The mag- 
istrates declined to act, but in May> 1670, a committee of the House of 
Deputies is said to have reported among the probable causes of God's dis- 
pleasure witli New England tlie " invasion of the rights, libertjes, & 
priuiledges of churches; an vsurpation of a lordly & praelatticall power 
ouer Gods liaeritage," leading to " the inevitable & total extirpation of the 
principles & pillars of the congrcgationall waj'," specifically referring to 
the " transaction of churches & elders in the constitution of the third 
church in Boston, as irregular, illegall, & disorderly." The strife was 
unhealed when the will was signed. Doubtless this was why Governor 
Bellingham decreed tliat especial emphasis be placed on the freedom of 
the individual church from all exterior ecclesiastical control. S(x> \Vm. 
p:nierson, Hist, of the First Church. 150. 127-129; IL A. Hill. Hist, of the 
Old South Church; Hutchinson, Hist, of Mass. (ed. 1795), i. 2-19.] 



396 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VIII 

request constitute and appoint m"" Jolm Oxenbridge m^ James 
Allen Teaching Officers to the first Church of Christ in Boston 
m.^' John Eussell of Hadley and M^' Anthony Stoddard " Shop- 
keeper in Boston to be ffeoffees in trust and Executors to this my 
last will and their heiers and Executors for ever, And in case of 
death or any other removeall whereby either of them are uncapable 
of acting (being so Judged by the rest) power is hereby given to 
the rest to Elect one or more in his or their stead, who shall haue 
the same power, And that three of these consenting shall make 
ancy valid act. I doe desier them to observe these Instructions 
following. 

1. My will is, that in convenient tyme a ministers house & meet- 
ing house bee built at Winnisimet when sufficient bee received out 
of the rents. 

2. That Lotts for dwellers and Inhabitants be given out, and 
conveniencey of land to the Ministers house. 

3. That four or six more or lesse young Students be brought vp 
for the ministry as the estate will beare. 

4. That somthing be allowed yearcly to any godly Congregational 
Minister who shalbe willing to settle in that place. 

5. That my Trustees take care of my beloved wife to give her 
counsell as shee need, and help her as far as they can in the quiet 
Injoyment of her estate and receiveing of her rent. 

6. That the Trustees meete twice a yeare at least, as often else 
as they can or is neede and that they bee allowed what is meete 
for each meeting. 

7. That they allow annually as they shall thinke fitt to a 
godly Congregationall Minister qualified as aboue for his further 
Support. 

8. That every quarter of the yeare one sermond be preached to 
instruct the people in Boston in Church discipline according to 
the word of God and such competent allowance be given to each 
of them as my Trustees shall iudge fitt or sufficient. 

I declare this to bee my last will & Testament and hereby null 
aney other. Richard Bellingham & a scale 

Signed & Sealed in the p^'sence of vs 

* [Anthony Stoddard was a member of the First Church of Boston, an 
inhabitant since 1639, and at his death, March 16, 1686/7, " the ancientest 
shopkeeper in Town." (Sewall, Diary, i. 170.) For nineteen years in 
succession lie was a deputy to the General Court, " no man having ever 
been so often chosen for Boston to our days." He was a " foremost oppo- 
nent of the intermeddling Randolph." See 5 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc, v. 170 
note.] 



Chap. VIII] GOVERNOR BELLINGHAJI'S WILL 397 

This eight & twentieth of November 
Sixteene himdred seaventy two. 
Augustin Lyndon William Killeupp 
Edmund Eanger. 

At a meeting of John Leverett Esq"" Dep* Gov^ with Edward Tyng 
Esq"- & William Stoughton Esq"- Assist Decemb"- 19th iq^2. 
Augustin Lyndon William Killeupp and Edmund Eanger made 
oath that they set their hands as witnesses to this Instrument and 
saw the late Governer Richard Bellingham Esq"" on the day of the 
date of it, signe seale and publish it as his last will and Testament 
and that when he so did he was of a sound disposing mind to the 
best of their vnderstanding, this was then done. 

As Attests Isaac Addington Eecr ' 

To a copy * of the will probably used in England, is appended 
the following: 

" Whereas y^ Late Honn""? Gov"" Bellingham hath inserted my 
name among the Executors of his Last Will and testament this is 
to declare that in Answere thereto y^ altho J account it duty & 
shold gladly attend the discharge of any seruice or any testimony 
of honio'" (within my small capasity) to so worthy a person & 
good a worke : yet y*^ consideracon of my distant habitation in 
collection w^^ that spetiall wori^e wherewith J stand charged; do 
bespeake a prouidentiall countermand to my casting in of my Small 
mite in the attendance thereof and necessitate mee to a non accept- 
ance of y^ same w?^ J testifie by my name subscribed who am 

yr worps euer to Comand John Eussell ^ 

Boston Octo: 29*^ 1673 Acknowledged the Same Day before vs 

John Leverett GoF W'illiam Stoughton Assist 

Eecorded & compared 31 : S''^" 1673 ^ ffree Grace Bendall Roc." 

' [The following additional endorsements appear, — 

" This is a true Coppie as Attests Jsaac Addington Cleric — This be- 
fore written is a true coppie, of the aforesaid attested coppie, left on 
file amongst the Records of the Comissioners Court held at Boston the 
'] of June 1673 in the case of Capt Edward Hutchinson against Blake 
and out thence drawne & examined the 20th day of August 1G73 p Robert 
Howard Cleric Cur Comiss." Chamberlain MSS., i. 11. This copy, dated 
within a few months of the Governor's death, was for use in an appeal 
to the Court of Assistants. Infra, chap, ix.] 

' [This copy has not been found among Judge Chamberlain's manu- 
scripts. See Suft'. Prob. Rec, L. 7, f. 275, for the above resignation. It is 
there recorded on the margin of record of the Governor's will.] 

" [Rev. John Russell was pastor at Hadley 1G00-1G92. The regicides, 
Colonel Whaley and Colonel GoflTe, were in concealment, it is said, at this 
time in his parsonage. Hutchinson, Hist, of Mass. (ed. 1795), i. 200; 
George Sheldon, Introduction to Judd's Hist, of Hadley, etc.] 



398 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VIII 

To a much later copy of |:he governor's will, apparently 
used when litigation concerning it was renewed, and perhaps 
to influence the result, is appended the following paper,^" 
dated the day on which the will was probated. 

" Whereas there seemes to bee some Shortness in expression — 
in the will & Testament of the late deceased Richard Bellingham 
Esqr concerning what hee both formerly (& at the time alsoe of 
his making of his last will bearing date Novembr twenty eight 
Sixteene hundred Seventy & two) Jntended to Settle on AF^ Penel- 
ope Bellingham his beloved Eelict; as appeares in that hee then 
declared it to bee his will that she should haue a full third part 
of his Estate; which in the will is saide to arise on the rent's of 
a ffarme at Winnisimet, in which Nicholas Eice is now Tenant, & 
the profit's of the house & adjoining ground's at Boston; which 
seemes not to amount to her thirds; And alsoe for that before 
Marriage with his saide wife, hee did in the p^'esence of good & 
substantiall Witnesses & vpon a marriage consideracon as wee are 
jnformed, give & Settle as in way of jointure on her, y^ ffarme at 
Winnisimet, on which Samuel Townsend is now Tenant; which 
yeildeth a greater rent then the other & soe makes good the widow's 
third's : There being alsoe a power given by the saide Will to mF 
John Oxenbridge, m!" James Allen & m'" Anthony Stoddard of 
Boston & mr John Eussell of Hadley as ffeoffes in trust or Execu- 
te?^ or any three of them not onely for paiment of Debt's & Lega- 
cies, but for distribution of a greate part of the Estate according 
to theire discretion & judgment 

It is therefore Agreed between Mrs Penelope Bellingha 
widow or Relict to the abovesaide Richard Bellingham Esq? 
deceased & the saide Mr John Oxenbridge m"" James Allen 
& mi" Anthony Stoddard as feoff es in trust or Executo^^ That 
the saide m?^ Penelope Bellingham shall from the day of the 
date hereof Enter vpon, haue, possess & enjoy for her third's 
of her late husband's Estate, during her naturall life, the 
house wherein hee lately dwelt in Boston, with the Shop's, 
Stable, outhousen yard & land adjoining & such of the house- 
hold good's, furniture & Lumber therein & thereunto belong- 
ing as is fit for her use. And jnstead of that ffarme which 
Nicholas Rice holdeth, she shall alsoe for her life haue the 
whole ffarme, on which Samuel! Town'send now Liveth at 

"> [Recorded Suflf. Prob. Rec, L. 7, f. 276. The copy of the will referred 
to in the text proves on examination an uncertified copy of a copy made by 
" Paul Dudley Regr " of Probate for Suff. Co.] 



Chap. VIII] GOVERNOR BELLINGHAM'S WILL 399 

Winnisimet ; which ffarrae & houses & Land's, & the Rent's 
& profit's thereof shalbee to the onely use & behoofe of tlie 
saide mr^ Bellingham & at her sole & free dispose for & during 
the time & terme of her Naturall Life (onely shee shall not 
make strip & waste thereof) & after her decease to revert & 
return to such vse as in the above mentioned will is provided 
& ordered. In Witness & confirmacon whereof the above 
menconed ifeoffees or Executo'^'^ haue hereunto irrevocably 
set theire hands & fixed theire Seales this nineteenth day of 
DecembF Anno Dni. one Thousand six hundred seventy & 
two. 

John Oxenbridge & a Seale 
James Allen & a Seale. 
Anthony Stoddard & a Seale. 
Signed Sealed and Delivered in p'^esence of us the word's (such of) 
& the word's (as is fit for her use) being interlined before Sealing 
& the words (as we are jnformed) & (seemes to) & (such of) 
George Corwin Isaac Addington 

m? John Oxenbridge & m?" James Allen & m? Anthony Stoddard 
acknowledged this jnstrum* to bee theire act & deede before us 
Jn" Leverett dep^ Gov? Edward Ting William Stoughton. 

Recorded Decembr 26\^ 1672 ^ Isaac Addington Cler 

To the copy printed in the New England Genealogical 
Register,^ ^ is appended: — 

" Nota? The Saying of the Rev^ M'" James Allen, one of these 
Executors, is as followeth. The Reason the Gou^ gaue me (when 
he d'd his will to me written with his own hand which was in 
the yeare 1670, after his son died (by his last wife) M'' John 
Bellingham whome he designed his Heire) that his Son Samuel 
had two hundred a yeare of his Estate and fifteen hundred pounds 
a yeare bef ailed him (there being thirteen p'sons Hues between him 
and it, which were all deceased without heires), & he will trust 
none to take up for him, and never Come to take it, if I leaue it 
him, besides he will giue it away for a Song, therefore I will 
dedicate it to God; and benefitt of this Gentry. He also told me 
he was p'swaded he would not suffer his Daughter to marry, so he 
should haue no posterity of his owne." ^^ 

" Vol. xiv. 237. [The date and ownership of this copy is unknown; 
but see infra, pp. 540-543.] 

" Hubbard, the historian, says of Governor Bellingham: "He had been 
bred a lawyer, yet turned strangely, although upon very pious considera- 
tions, as some have judged, out of the ordinary road thereof, in the 



400 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VHI 

Governor Bellingham's will was dated November 28, 1672 ; 
he died December 7tli, as has been said, and on the nineteenth 
his will was probated. As the estate in the trustees Avas a 
remainder after the decease of persons then living, apparently 
there was nothing for them to do but wait the happening of 
that event.-*^ 

But Mr. Richard "WTiarton,^ ^ attorney for Samuel Belling- 
ham, the governor's son, was suspicious that James Allen, 

making of his last will and testament, which defect, if there were any, 
was abundantly supplied by the power of the general court, so as that no 
prejudice did arise to his successours about his estate." 2 Coll. Mass. 
Hist. Soc, vi. 610. [H'ubbard was a classmate of the son, Samuel Bel- 
lingham, at Harvard College, 1642. Governor Hutchinson wrote: "Mr. 
Bellingham died December 7th, 1672. He lived to be the only surviving 
patentee named in the charter. It is always mentioned as a part of his 
character, that he hated a bribe. He was bred a lawyer, but, like some 
much greater lawyers, made his last will and testament in such a manner, 
that after some years dispute, the general court thought it necessary to 
supply the defects of it, by making a disposition of his estate themselves, 
( Some controversies occasioned by it have lasted more than a century. ) " 
Hist, of Mass. (ed. 1795), 247 note.] 

" [According to the will, the rents of two farms w^ere given to the 
daughters of Colonel Goodrick " so long as they shall haue vrgent need." 
From the beginning the trustees were to manage these farms at least, and 
send the rents merely to England.] 

" For some account of Richard Wharton, of whom we shall hear much 
in connection with the Bellingham estates, see Savage, Gen. Diet. " Some- 
thing may be inferred of his social position from the fact that his three 
wives were daughters of the most important men in New England. About 
1659 he married Bethia, the daughter of William Tyng, one of the wealth- 
iest men in the colony; after her decease he married, in 1672, Sarah, 
daughter of Rev. John Higginson, of Salem; and after her death, which 
occurred on the eighth of May, 1676, he married [in 1677] for his third, 
Martha, daughter of the second John Winthrop, the Governor of Con- 
necticut Colony." (Shurtleff, Boston, 684.) [He was a merchant in 
Boston engaged in foreign trade, active in the courts as an attorney, 
and a partner in many business and land ventures. In 1686 he was ap- 
pointed a member of the Council of President Dudley, having been recom- 
mended by Edward Randolph. He served on the Council of Governor 
Andros, but opposed both Randolph and Andros. He sailed for England 
in July, 1687, to secure a patent for mines and for some Narragansett 
lands. He joined the agents of Massachusetts in representations to the 
King, and died in London May 14, 1689. (Sewall, Diary, i. 255.) His 
estate was much involved at his death, and his daughters kept a small 
store in Boston. Sarah married John Cotta. See letters from Wharton 
in 6 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc, v. 9-18, 25; also 5 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc, ix. 
112; 6 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc, iii. 466, 467; Sewall, Diary, i. 182; N. E. 
Hist, and Gen. Reg., xxxvii. 270; Prince Society Pub., Randolph Papers, ii. 
33, 50, 79; ivJ 44, 114, 115, 162, 221, 244, 279.] 



Chap. VIII] GOVERNOR BELLINGILAJVI'S WILL 401 

the governor's pastor, had influenced him to make a will un- 
favorable to his son. These suspicions he bruited abroad before 
the governor's death/ ^ and a few weeks after set them forth 
formally. 

Richard Wharton's Deposition ^® 

Eichd Wharton of Boston aged about thirty six years, maketh oath 
y*^ a [bout]. ^'^ nine or tenn dayes bef'' Gov^'n'' Bellinghams death, 
the deponent meeting with m'" James Allin at the End of the 
Street where they both live; the deponent enquired of the s*^ M"" 
Allin, how the Gov^'n'" did & whether he had made his Will, to 
w^** the &^ M"" Allin answered , y* he had made his will ; to w^** 
the deponent replyed that he would not be pticuP" in his inquiry 
how he had disposed his Estate, but was very willing to Know 
in Generall how he had dealt with his Son, the Depon* then de- 
claring to M^ Allin that his s*^ Son was a person of a good Gen- 
erous & publick Spirit, & y* he would doe good with his Estate, 
& instanced his act about m"" Stone's Booke ^® & some other order 
he had given about the disposall of such Estate as he had in the 
Country bef? m*" Allin replyed he had dealt well or hon''ably with 
his Son, & had left him well provided for, not onely after his 
wifes decease but presently after his owne, & y* w* he had done 
for his Sonn, he doubted not but it would Satisfye him, me the 
Deponent, & all his freinds with w*^'^ the Deponent was so well 
Satisfyed, y* whereas he had thoughts bef^ to wait upon the Gov''n^ 
to put him in mind of his Sonn, he thereupon desisted, & the 
Deponent saith, y* that night y* it was reported Govern'' Belling- 
ham dyed, he the deponent went to the said m^' Allins*house to 
Satisfye himself e in the premises ; that M** Allin produced a Sealed 
paper w*^'^ he opened & tooke out thereof another written paper- 
w*^"^ he said was the Gov^'n'"^ will, and after Some Short time gave 
it into the Deponents hand to read, & y* he the Deponent read the 
same deliberately, & Kept it some Considerable time in his owne 

" [Presumably Judge Chamberlain intended to write, before the pro- 
bate of the Governor's will. See infra, p. 411.] 

" Chamberlain MSS., i. 17. Copy certified by Daniel Gookin. 

" Words included in [ ] are conjectural for those worn away. 

" Samuel Bellingham had proposed to print The whole Body of Divinity, 
by Rev. Samuel Stone of Hartford. But this was never done. April 7, 
1681, Rev. Nathaniel Mather wrote from England to his brother, Rev. 
Increase Mather of Boston, " Mr Bellingliam is so drowned in Melancholy, 
if yet living, for I have not heard of him these 8 or 9 years, nor seen him 
as many more, that Mr Stone's body of Divinity is like to bee utterly lost 
with him." 4 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc, viii. 33, 76. 
VOL. I. — 26 



402 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VIII 

hands, & discoursed Severall pticul^^ therein with m'" Allin, & 
declared y' in regard of Some Seeming uncertaintyes therein, it 
might admitt of Dispute, & also the Depon* tooke notice of the 
unusual & abrupt Conclusion thereof, & Saith y* to the best of 
his Eemembrance & und'standing the last clause w^*^ appeared 
therein upon probate of the s<^ will, viz his de[cla]ring y*^ to be 
his last will & nulling any other, was not in the will [shown] 
by m^ Allin to this Depon* And the Deponent is the more con- 
firmed [in the] beleife & pswasion thereof because it was not in 
a copy w^^ M"^ Allin [handed the] depon* w^*^ he said he had 
drawne out for his owne use: And because [on the] Morning after 
the probate of the will, (the Deponent having then de[clared] his 
said suspicion beleife & Reason to the Deputy Gov'n'", & Assist- 
ants) []\Ir] Allin came to this Deponents house & with freindly 
& Kindly Expressions declared his unwillingness y* any difference 
should be maintained about the s<^ will, & made some proposalls 
of a treaty, & taking advice about Composing the Differences & 
Setling the Estate & also requested the Deponent, y* if he had 
not Sent away the letter that the s<^ m^" Allin & Trustees had writt 
to m^ Sam" Bellingham, & therein as he told the Deponent En- 
closed a copy of s*^ will, y* the Deponent, in whose hands it was 
left for Conveyance would returne the s^ Letter to him againe, 
w^'^ the Deponent unadvisedly delivered to M^' Allin, from w"^ 
he Eeceived it, & that the Said m^ Allin carryed the Same away 
from the Deponent without opening, & Shewing the Depon* the 
Copy Therein inclosed, or requesting the Depon* to goe with him 
bef^ Authority , to See the Same opened, & for y* about tenn 
dayes after the Deponent discoursing hereof to m'" Oxenbridge, 
he owned y* they all had Signed a copy of Said "Will as a true 
Copy to be sent to Docf Bellingham, but Seemed ignorant y* the 
"s*^ Letter & Copy were taken out of the Depon^^ hands. Againe 
other reasons the Deponent hath, w" Called hereunto. And fur- 
ther the Deponent saifch, y* taking notice to m^' Allin y* provision 
was made in the will for debts & Legacyes, & no Legacyes left 
according to s^ provision, M"" Allin told the Deponent, the GovVn'' 
would have left Some Legacyes & have Added Some particuP^, but 
his weakeness prevailed So much, yt he could not finish the Same. 
Cambridge the S-t^ii of January 1672 

This is a true Coppie of a deposition taken by m"" Eichard 
Wharton Before mee the day & yeare aboue written 
examined by Daniel Gookin 

3 Feul)ruarv 

1672[1673]. 



Chap. VIII] GOVERNOR BELLINGHAM'S WILL 403 

Between * the date of "Wharton's deposition, and that of 
Gookin's certificate, and therefore presumably for uttering his 
'' suspicion beleife & Reason to the Deputy Gov^'n'', & Assist- 
ants," as he says he did, proceedings were taken against him: ^^ 

At a Comity Court held at Boston Janur? 28tb 1672. [1673] 
M^' Eichard AVharton presented by the Grand jury for reviling & 
reproaching of m- James Allen Teacher of the first Church of 
Christ in Boston in Saying hee added a line or clause to the 
Governo^'^ Will, after hee had Signed & Sealed it, which is proved 
by Witnesses to bee Slanderous & reproachfull & contrary to law, 
title Heresy Section (7) -'^ M^ Wharton being called desired the 
benefit of a Jury, which was granted, & after the presentment & 
Evidences in the case produced were read, cofh'itted to the jury 
& remaine on file with the Eecords of this Court. The jury 
brought in theire Verdict. They finde m^ Richard Wharton by 
Declaring & Manifesting his apprehentions to bee guilty of re- 
proaching M^ James Allen. The Court Sentanceth the said m^ 
"V\Tiarton to give in bond for the good behaviour, of one hundred 
pounds himselfe & fifty pounds apeice two Sureties, till the thir- 
teenth of March next & then to appeare. (and the Court declared 

^° [Wharton, as attorney of Dr. Samuel Bellingham, entered a formal 
protest at the probate of the will, December 19, 1672, and expressed his 
belief that Rev. James Allen had added a clause to the Governor's will. 
A very considerable excitement ensued in the town. When the Grand 
Jury met it presented Wharton. The above deposition v/as not im- 
probably taken then. The case came up for trial in the Suffolk County 
Court, apparently on February 3, 1672/3, the date of the certification 
by Daniel Gookin. (Itifra, note 21.) Presumably this deposition was a 
part of Wharton's defence. It is not certain that it was received by the 
court, as Wharton complained later that his " pleas were admitted, but 
his proof es & Testimonyes were restrayned for yt time."] 

'^'' [This law provided that " every person or persons whatsoever, that 
shall revile the Office or person of Magistrates or Ministers, as is usual 
with the Quakers, such person or' persons shall be severely whipt, or pay 
the sum of five pounds." (Mass. Col. Laws, reprinted in 1887 from the ed. 
of 1G72, p. 61.) Prosecutions of this character took place under both the 
Colonial and the Provincial governments. See the case of John Webb 
presented in January, 1707/8, for charging Rev. Moses Fisk of Brain- 
tree " with removing his Neighbours Land marks," and thus falling 
" under that Curse in Deuteronomie, meaning the Divine Curse against 
removing Land marks " which was a " Scandalous Lye " and was " not 
only to the great Defamation of the said Minister but of his Office also, 
and to the great Reproach of Religion and the Offence of the Church of 
Christ in said Town and against the Law of this Province." Records of 
Court of Gen. Sess. of Peace, i. 163, 164. Office of Clerk of the Supreme, 
Court of Suff. Co.] 



404 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VIII 

tliat then they Expect hee Should prosecute his change exhil)ited 
iu Court against the late Governo^'^ Executo"^"^ & to pay the Charges 
of Witnesses [& ffees] of Court, m-'" Wharton Declared in Court 
that hee Suhniitted to the Scntance & accordingly tlie saide m'" 
-liichard Wharton as principle in one hundred pounds and m"" 
Thomas Brattle & m"" Xicholas Page as Sureties in ffifty pounds 
ape ice acknowledged themselves respectively bound to the Treas- 
ure'" of the County of Suffolke on Condicon the saide Wharton 
shalbee of good behaviour till the thirteenth of March next & shall 
then appeare. 

This is a true Coppie«As Attests Isaac Addington, Cler.-^ 

-' Mass. Hist. Soc, Misc. Papers, 1628-1691, i. 66. A. D. S. [The rec- 
ords of the Suffolk County Court for the years 1671 to 1680 have been re- 
cently discovered, and are now (1905) temporarily at the Old Court House, 
Boston, in the office of the City Registrar. The first term of the County 
Court after Governor Bellingham's death began January 28. 1672/3. " John 
Leverett Esqr Dept Govr, Edw Tyng Wm Stoughton Assits " being present. 
Among the early entries is: "This Court grants liberty to the late 
Governors Executors till the next Court to bring in an Inventory of that 
Estate" (p. 100). The record given in the text is on p. Ill, after which 
appear the following entries: 

" John Veering presented for being drunck & abuseing his wife in bad 
language calling her whore &a. & reproaching mr Allen & Church mem- 
ber's in saying m£. Allen was a black hypocriticall Rogue, of all wliich 
hee was convict in Court. The Court Sentanceth him to bee whipt with 
thirty Stripes severely laide on & to stand in the open market place in 
Boston, exalted upon a Stoole for an houres time on a thiirsday after 
Lecture; with a paper fastned to his breast, with this inscription in a 
lardge character A prophane & wicked Slanderer & impious Reviler of a 
minister of the Gosple & Churchmember's; & to pay charges of witnesses 
& ffee's of Court standing coiTiitted &a Vpon the peticon of the saide 
Veering & humble acknowledgment made in open Court The Court re- 
verseth this Sentance [substituting ten pounds] in Mony fine to the 
County & to give in bond for the good behaviour of twenty pound's. . . ." 
(p. 112, Veering was discharged of his bonds at the term of Court be- 
ginning April 29, 1673. p. 128.) Previously to this James Brown had 
been convicted of " vilifying & reproaching Mr Anthony Stoddard in bad 
language," and had been sentenced to make a written acknowledgment or 
pay a fine to the county of five pounds. i\Ir. Stoddard acknowledged in 
Court that he had received satisfaction. The nature of this vilification is 
not stated, (p. 108.) 

"Mr. Richard Wharton in open Court flTebry. 3d. 1672 [16731. Charged 
mr John Oxenbridge mr James Allen & mr Anthony Stoddard for falsify- 
ing theire trust to & violating the late Govrs. will.. 

" Mr Richard Wharton for contempt in open Court was coiuitted to 
prison." (p. 113.) Whai'ton's Reasons of Appeal show that his commit- 
ment to prison preceded the sentence, given in the text, infra, p. 412. 

" Dr. Robert Couch bound over to this Court for making Verses tending 
to the reproach of the late Govr. Richard Bellingham Esql. & of the 
Ministers: The Court Sentanceth him to give in bond for the good be- 



CiTAr. VIII] GOVERNOR BELLIXGIIAM'S WILL 405 

Wharton, bound over to the court to be held March 13th, on 
the 10th, and apparently as part of his defence, made a 

Second Deposition — 

Eichard Wharton aged about Thirty six years Testifyeth That 
some tyme after Govern^" Bellinghams will was proved he being in 
Discourse with M"^" John Oxenbridge Concerning y^ Same he told 
m'" Oxenbridge y* many Did beleive y^ Govern^" was not Compos 
]\Ientis when y^ will was made M'^' Oxenbridge answered y* That 
was not true for he was with y® Govern'' about or not al)ouc 
Three qVters of an houre before m'' Allen Came to make y^ will and 
yt y® Govern'" then was Eationall and y* he then said he would 
Dispose his Estate into thirds one Third to his wife one Third 
to his son & one third to pious uses & to pay Debts & Legacyes 
To w<^'^ y^ Depon*^ then Repl3'ed how Can y" giue a greater argum* 
that he Did not und'"stand himself when he should make or Declare 
a will wherein noe such Thing is menconed And That if he had 
soe Done It would haue given Satisfaccon as y*^ Dcpon* Thought to 
all Concerned ffor then as y^ Depon* said after y^ widows Decease 
his son would haue had two thirds of y*^ Estate but M"" Oxenbridge 
then replyed if soe y^ widows Thirds would alsoe revert after her 
Decease To y® Ex^"^ for good uses . and seemd much Concernd 
at my Construccon But y^ Depon* told him y* then iie should 
not Despute a matter soe remote ffurther. y^ Depon* sayth y* he 
going to Comunicate a Letter to j\I'"^ Bellingham which he had 
received from Maj"" Winslow ^^ wherein he resented y^ Injury : 
Done to her by the Ex'"^ Discoursing with her about adding to 
altering & Interlyning y*^ Deed they : had given her Shee Seemd 
to blame her selfe for y* wrong Intimating that shee soe farr- 
Confided in them as not to Doubt y*^ pformance of their agreem^ 
with Maj"* Winslow on her behalfe And therefore when y^ Deed 
was read shee regarded not w*^ was in it nor tooke any notice of 
it nor y*^ Alteraoin therein Alsoe she Declared y* when y^ will 

havioi" ten pound's himselfe & five pound's apeice two Sureties: Vpon his 
request the Court accepted of his own bond . . . that hec would bee of 
good behaviour till the next Court of this County & would then appeare." 
(pp. 114, 115.) He was discharged from his bonds at the term of Court 
beginning May 29, 1G73. p. 139.] 

" Original in ?*Ia-ss. Hist. Soe. Misc. Papers, 1628-1691, i. 67. 

-^ [Penelope Pelham, daughter of Herbert Pelhani, and niece of Mrs. 
Penelope Bellingham, married in 1657 Major Josiah Winslow of Marsh- 
field, Governor of Plymouth Colony from June, 1673, imtil his death in 
16S0. N. E. Hist, and Gen. Reg., xxxiii. 291. See infra, p. 407; supra, 
p. 398.] 



406 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VIII 

was proved and y^ Deed Signd and Seald at y^ Deputy Govern'"^ 
they lett her ISitt as one unconcerned never ^posing any thing 
to her or asking her one question of her Consent or willingness 
This m^'s Bellingham Declared to y« Depon^ in M^^ Eliz : Pelhams-^ 
hearing who y^ Depon* beleivs Can Testify more fully heerin 
fhirther y*^ Depon^ sayth y' by Discours w**^ m'"^ J^ellingham he 
und''stood y* y** Day before m^"^ Pelham watched with y^ Govern"" 
They Discerned y*^ Govern^' to be Discomposed in his mind and 
Disord^'d in his memory : And y^ Depon^ alsoe sayth That to the 
best of his Knowledge he never Declared Hinted or Intimated 
any thing to y« Govern"" y* might pswade or Induce him to Deale 
unkindly with or Disinheritt his Son But Clearly y^' Contrary 
giveing unto him such a Character & report of his Son as Seemd 
abundantly to Satisfy him and y* y'^ Govern"" in this Depon^^ hear- 
ing manifested an affectionate & fatherly Kindness to him and 
Desire to haue him Come to ISTew Engld. 
taken vpon oath 10*^ 1*^^ 72. before vs 

Simon Bradstreet Assist 
Daniel Denison 
The next day came the 

Reply ^^ of the Executors.-^ 

A Narration of the Occasion of what the Executor^ unto 
the Last Will of Eichard Bellingham Esq? haue done in 
referrence to m?"^ Bellingham — 
Major Winslow desiring the oppertunity to speake with us and 
also the Sight of the Will, Wee readily consented, and the next 
day after the ffunerall went to m?"^ Bellinghams house & there in 
the presence of m?"^ Bellingham, Major Winslow & Cap* Corwin 
the Coppie of the Will was read; the first thing spoken to by 
Major Winslow was something about the Will that hee read but 
presently saith this is not my buisness for my Aunt is not willing 
to doe any thing to the blemish of her husbands name or to that 
purpose, but not a word was spoken of anything wanting in the 
close of it as not declaring it to bee his last Will; but forth- 
with fell into discourse about the change of the ffarme [the 
Shurtleff farm] given in the Will to mVs Bellingham, wherin 

^ [Elizabeth Pelham. youngest sister of ]Mrs Bellingham. N. E. Hist, 
and Gen. Reg., xxxiii. 290.1 

^ [Presumably this and the foregoing paper were prepared independ- 
ently, — the one in support, and the other in contradiction of the charge 
made by Wharton, Felaruary 3, 1672/3. Supra, note 21.] 

°'' Chamberlain I\ISS., i. 19. [Copy attested by Isaac Addington, clerk 
of the Sufl". Co. Court.] 



Chap. VIII] GOVERNOR BELLINGHAM'S WILL 407 

they made known tlieire disatisfaction alleadgeing it to bee but 
twenty pounds a yeare and also that the ffarme [the Gary farm] 
one Town send rented at ft'orty pounds a yeare there was testi- 
mony to prove that the late Govor promised before marriage 
to Leauc to his Wife and as a further proof e thereof it was 
usually called niV^ Bellinghams ffarme & therefore declared 
theire desire wee would consider of it & to exchange the ifarme 
of twenty for that of tforty and that would Satisfy; they also 
saide that otherwise the Widdow would fall short of her thirds, 
Whereupon wee consented; The next thing spoken to by them 
was the household goods, unto w?^ wee answered that what was fit 
& necessary for her use Shee should enjoy during her life, where- 
with they declared they were contented & manifested they would 
rest in what wee had promised — but reply was made by us that 
concerning the exchange of the ifarme wee were not willing they 
should take our words, but desired Majo? Winslow to draw the 
conclusion of that in writing & wee would Signe & Scale it & for 
the goods they might take oV words that wee would performe it 
and wf^ this as to the Substance of o!" conference wee parted & 
never saw major Winslow since. ''^ 

James Allen — 
Boston March ll^i^- Penelope Bellingham. Anthony Stoddard 
1673- John Oxenbridge re- 

membreth the maine 
but not yt the coiiion appellation of 
the ffarme was mentioned but perfectly 
remembreth to his best observation 
about the goods there was noe mention 
nor motion of leaving all y^ goods 
Wee hope by what is aboue it will appeare that wee are far from 
combining to falsify our trust it being in speciall in the Will 
desired that wee would take care of the Widdow, and also by what 
wee haue done there is noe injury done as yet to any concerned in 
the Will, when any are it wilbee then time for them to complaine 
to us or of us & wee doubt not to give them Satisfaction, and also 
as far from violating the Will in what wee haue done if that which 
is given m^s Bellingham in the Will reach not to her thirds, 
what haue Avee done in consenting to that without a Sute, which 
if Sued for wee could not haue avoyded : Wee might enlardge but 
shall not further trouble the Honor*^ Court, except further to con- 
lirme what is saide by some testimonies & to desire that what wee 
haue done in reference to mr^ Bellingham may, if the Court 

" [The paper signed by the trustees is given; supra, p. 398.] 



408 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VIII 

thinke meete bee confirmed, that soe wee may bee free from the 
unjust ]\Iolestations of such as would bee Medlers with tiiat that 
doth not concerne them. 

In Wharton's depositions given above he related circnra- 
stances tending to charge Rev. James Allen with having added 
to Governor Hellingham's will after its execution a clause 
nullifying all former wills, and Rev. John Oxcnbridge and 
Mr. Stoddard, the other trustees, with a willingness to take 
advantage of this alteration. They in their reply, without 
expressly denying the circumstances, said that no such objec- 
tions were made to the will when Mrs, Bellingham and her 
nephew, Major Winslow, discussed its provisions in her behalf, 
shortly after the governor's death. ^^ They also intimated that 
Richard Wharton had better attend to his ow^n business and 
not meddle with what did not concern him. 

The whole proceeding was most extraordinary and, except 
for the evidence of it in these documents, incredible. The 
next stage is best told in the following paper, drawTi by the 
clerk, Isaac Addington, in which he gives the action of the 
Court, and the viva voce sentence and recognizance of Wharton, 
and bis sureties. 

The Second Hearing ^^ 
At a County Court held at Boston by Adjourmt 

March . ISt^^- 167i- 
Mr Eichard Wharton, being called to prosecute his charge Ex- 
hibited this Court, against m"" John Oxenbridge, m^ James Allen & 
mr Anthony Stoddard (for falsifying theire trust to & violating 
the late GovernoVs Will) according to the Court's declaring, (theire 
now Expectation thereof) at theire former Session, when they 
Sentanced him to the good behaviour : m!" Wharton refused to 
prosecute, without the Court would authorize him in behalfe of 

'^ [Tliis defence hy the trustees, prepared in answer to the charge 
made by Wliarton February 3, 1G72/3, that they had violated the Gov- 
ernor's will by tiieir agreement with Mrs. Bellingham, would not prop- 
erly take notice of the earlier charge that Rev. James Allen had added a 
clause to the will. It was natural, however, for the trustees to refer 
to the matter as they did to preclude the inference of duress. Infra, 
note 30.1 

^ Chamberlain MSS., i. 21. [Attested cojjy by Isaac Addington. clerk 
of the Suff. Co. Court, of the record in Suff. Co. Court Rec, 1671-1G80, 
cited above, 117.] 



Chap. VIII] GOVERNOR BELLINGHAAI'S WILL 409 

the Country & gave this as one reason thereof hee was loath to 
put in his Evidences, because hee must bee at the charge of taking 
them out againe: Vpon which the Court enjoined him as fol- 
loweth : mV Kichard Wharton the Court having formerly tried 
you, with onely expressing themselves as expecting yoV prosecution 
of yoF Charge exhibited this Court against mV Jolni Oxenbridge 
tq}' James Allen & m"" Anthony Stoddard & you still persisting in 
yo? declining of it : the Court doe therefore require yo? prosecution 
of the saide Charge at Aprill Court next & declare that yoV bonds 
for the good behaviour stand good till that time. mV Wharton 
appealed to the next Court of Assistants & gaue bond to prosecute 
accordingly. Eichard Wharton you as principle in five hundred 
pounds & James Whetcomb & Arthur Mason as Sureties in two 
hundred & fifty pounds apeice, acknowledge yo"* Selues respec- 
tively bound to the Treasure? of the County of Suifolke & his 
Successor^ on condicon that you Eichard Wharton shall prosecute 
yo? appeale from the injunction of this Court at the next Court 
of Assistants to Effect. & in the meane time that you shalbee of 
good behaviour. 

All which the persons aboue named did oblidge themselues to in 
Court. March . 13« . 1671. Attests I. A. C. 

This also was a singular proceeding. The facts seem to 
be these: Kichard Wharton, claiming to be the attorney of 
Samuel Bellingham, fancied (for I cannot think there was any 
foundation) that James Allen had tampered with Governor 
Bellingham's will. These suspicions, with the facts which 
seemed to give color to them, afterwards embodied in the 
deposition which we have read, he made public, whereupon 
he was indicted for slander or libel, and convicted. This trial 
was a mistake ; and so the court, I think, saw on reflection ; 
for there was nothing indictable in the paper. lie made no 
charges, but simply related certain facts about Allen's M'ith- 
drawal of a copy of the will after he had given it to A^Tiarton 
to send to Samuel Bellingham. At all events the court did 
not sentence him after the verdict of the jury, but illegally 
and absurdly enjoined him to prosecute his charge (as though 
he had made one) against Allen and his associates at the 
adjourned court, and put him under bonds to that effect, as 
well as to be of good behavior. ^*^ 

^^ [See supra, proceedings in the County Court February 3, 1672/3; 
infra, Wharton's Reasons of Appea' .'^ the Court of Assistants. These 



410 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VIII 

The object of this proceeding is not altogether clear from 
the papers, but is open to surmise. If Wharton had charged 
the trustees with altering the "vvill, which would be forgery, 
that would be an indictable offence for which, on conviction, 
he might be punished. But Wharton, not to be caught in that 
trap, said in effect, '' authorize me to make this prosecution in 
behalf of the government, and then I am ready," for then he 
would be protected as are all officers who, in the discharge of 
their official duties, make libellous charges. This not answer- 
ing the purpose of the court, he was commanded to prosecute 
in his private capacity. From this order he appealed to the 
Court of Assistants. In those days the appellant gave in 
writing the reasons of his appeal. These I have not found.^^ 
To them the other party filed an answer, from which may be 
inferred Wharton's reasons, though obviously garbled by 
Addington. 

[Reasons of Appeal of Bichard Wharton 

Richard "VMiarton his Reasons of appeale from the Sentence 
of the County Court held by adjournm*. March 13. humbly 
craving liberty for defence and replication to such answer as 
may hereunto be given, & time to make Such further pleas in 
matters of Law, and proofe in matter of fact, as the Case 
may require — 
For as much as the Appellant, as a freind and Attourney to D"" 
Samuel Belli ngham appeared to enter exceptions ag*^ the pre- 
tended will of the late Gov^n'' Rich*^ Bcllingham Esqr deceased, 
& upon hearing and Sight of the Said will at the time of probate 

documents were not seen by Judge Chamberlain. The trials at the January 
and the March terms of the County Court diflered. At the first Wharton 
was convicted of slandering Allen by insinuating that he added a clause 
to the Governor's will. At the second, Wliarton refused to prove his so- 
called charge, made during his defence in the first trial, that the trustees 
had violated the will by their agreement with Mrs. Bellingham. Obviously 
Wharton had no interest in protecting the will from A-iolation ; what he 
desired was its nullification. Governor Leverett had been present when the 
trustees signed the agreement with ]\Irs. Bellingham, and had given it his 
countenance.] 

^' [Richard Wharton's Reasons of Appeal have been found in Suff. 
Early Court Files (No. 1353) in the Office of the Clerk of the Supreme 
Judicial Court for Suff. Co. They are placed in the text in brackets. 
They are in the handwriting of Richard Wharton, with an endorsement 
by Isaac Addington.] 



CuAP. VIII] GOVERNOR BELLINGHMI'S WILL 411 

did to the Hon^<^ Gov'n'' that now is the Worshipfiill m^ Ting 
& ni'' Stoughton, in the presence of m"" Oxenbridge m"" Allen & 
ni'' Stoddard, manifest a Strong suspicion y* Some addition had 
been made to the will after it was Sealed, and then offered some 
reasons of his Said suspicion, and afterwards upon occasion of dis- 
course with Some reputed freinds concerning the said will, the 
Appellant declared his s*^ Suspicion, which being reported, the 
Grand-Jury Contrary to the Appellant's Expectation, and as he 
humbly conceives contrary to the Course of Law & proceedings 
in like information, in stead of the pty suspected or charged for 
making such addition presented the Appellant for speaking the 
afores'.' words as slanderous and reproachfull, & Contrary to Law 
title Heresye, Sect. 7 : And the Appellant being called to answer 
the said presentm*, desiring time y* he might bring in testiraonyes, 
& y^ he might have a Copye of the presentm*^ whereby he might 
be able Securely to answer for himselfe : & in the Countryes be- 
halfe proove w' he had declared, was denyed both & brought to 
his tryall, & therein had unExpected opposition and discounte- 
nance, So y* he was provoked, & necessitated, being denyed the 
benefit of further proofe; to make the best & most earnest em- 
pro veni*^ of those he then had which he declared he thought 
sufficient grounds for his Suspicion & beleife in which he was con- 
firmed by some foul Cariages Concerning the will, which words 
foul Cariages , were by the Hon^'*^ Gov'n^", though neither pson or 
fact were named or expressed, taken hold of and improved as a 
charge ag*^ some psons, and there upon the Appell* was required 
by his honr to name the ptyes guilty of foul Cariages, but the 
appcll* unwilling to bring further reproach upon the psons con- 
cerned, craved excuse, declaring it were better for the psons con- 
cerned to be concealed then named : But his hon"" strongly insisted 
upon it, & upon the Appell*^^ unwillingness told him, — except 
he would name the psons his Case was with the jury, though his 
Testimonyes were then detayned in his hon'"^ hands. And the 
appell*^ pceiving y* noe plea or proofe was further to bo given in 
Except his Hon'^'^ Demands as above were answered, & the Jury 
being like to pass upon his accusation without his defence, he was 
most unwillingly forced to declare y*^ m"" Oxenbridge, m^' Allen, 
m'" Stodder were the psons Intended in his Speech : And the 
Gov'n'' requiring an Explication of the foul Cariages, the Appell' 
in obedience thereto Complayned, & declared y* they had falsifyed 
their trust to, & Violated the Gov^'n''^ will if a will : which Declar- 
ation the Gov^'n'' Comanded the Gierke to Enter, & Immediately 
required the Appell* to proceed to the proofe of the charge, as he 
was pleased to Call it. ]3ut the Appell^ being not fully heard, nor 



412 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VIII 

any of his Evidences given in to the Jun^ upon the Presentm*, 
Craved Excuse & liberty to proceed upon his defence ; Answering, 
yt when the first was ended, he should attend w* the Court should 
legally require therein : upon which y^ Appellants pleas were 
admitted, but his proofes & Testimonyes were restrayned for y^ 
time. Afterwards, ye Appellant by the Gov^n"" being required to 
prosecute the charge as it was called he replyed, y* if the Court 
would form his words into a charge and direct him upon w* law 
he might prosecute he should be obedient, or if the ptyes were 
aggreiyed, and looked upon themselves Slandered, if they pleased 
to Enter their action, he would joyne Issue with them, and leave 
the tryall to the Same Court & Jury; but the ptyes Evaded any 
such tryall. Againe the Gov'"n'' pressed and required the Appel- 
lants prosecution, upon which he replyed as befr he was either in 
the Countr3'e's behalfe if they would impower him & direct to a 
law, willing to prosecute, or to joyne Issue with the ptyes upon 
their action, for then in case he proved ag* them, he Knew where 
to recover his charges. But to prosecute in any illogall way he 
would not : Which last words (But to prosecute in any illegall way 
he would not) being spoken with some earnestness, but conjunct 
with the aforegoing, were by the Gov'"n''^ Command entred alone, 
and being taken disjunct, and that Necessary Connexion they had 
with the former being cutt of. They then made Such an irreverent 
Sound, as to be Construed a Contempt of Court, & were the onely 
Cause, the Appellant Knows, to Committ him to Prison without 
liberty of Appeal, Bayle or mayne-prise for 24 hours, whereas the 
Appell*^ intended all due honV to the Court & humbly hoped y' 
his answer being taken conjunct would not import any matter of 
offence. That upon the Appellant's release out of prison he was 
Sentenced to be bound to his Good Behavi'" till the 13 of March 
following, & then to appear. And in the said Sentence the Court 
did declare that then they Expected y* he should prosecute the 
charge ag* the Govrn'"^ Execut?^ &c. and upon reading the said 
Sentence The Worship" j\P' Stoughton declared y* the Appellant 
was not thereby bound, but he might choose Avhether he would 
prosecute or no, onely it was the Courts Expectation y* he should : 
Ypon which y*^ Appell* unadvisedly Submitted to the Sentence, 
concluding y* he had been bound to the Hon'"*^ Court of Assistants 
in March & there should have had oportunity of a full hearing ; 
The County Court being not then adjourned and their adjournm* 
till after the Court of Assistants not Easily to be foreseen, being 
an adjournm* for ought the Appell* can und^'stand without presid*, 
& how Legall soever it may be, yet the presid* may be of bad Con- 
sequence, & frustrate psons of y^ Speedy releife by appeals which 



CiiAP. VIII] GOVERNOR BELLINGHAM'S WILL 413 

the Law in the Constitution of this Court intended, by making 
cases terminable but once a year. But the Appellant presently 
after he had declared his Submission to the Sentence, recollecting 
himself e bef^' the adjournm* of the Court tendered his appeal, which 
was refused, upon which he withdrew, and againe a 2*^ time upon 
advice went up to tender his appeal, but the Door being Shutt 
the Appellant desired the officer y*^ attended, to acq* the Court, y* 
ho humbly craved leave to Come in, but the Marshall or officer 
upon his rcturne from the Court proclaimed the Courts adjournm*, 
and then the Appell* had admission but was denyed his appeale. 
That at the adjournm*^ of ye Court upon the 13 of March, which 
was after the Court of Assistants was ended, the Appell* appeared, 
& being required to prosecute the Charge, as it was Called, ag* the 
Gov'n'"^ Ex"^"® Avith due hon"" & Submission to the Court The 
Appellt declared, y* if the fact complayned of were not Criminall, 
neither was he in Complayning of or declaring it, but if it were Crim- 
inall, & the Court would impower him in & upon the Countryes be- 
halfe, & charge, & direct to a law upon which he might prosecute, 
he was therein willing to serve the Country, or if the ptyes pleased 
to Commence an action ag' him he was willing to Joyne Issue, but 
upon his owne charge & without a warrant of the Law, he could 
not answer the Courts Expectations, upon which the Court, with- 
out any tryall or hearing by a jury (who the Appell* Conceives the 
proper judges of matter of fact) Sentenced him to prosecute the 
said Charge, so called, at Aprill Court next after & that till then 
the Bonds of Good Behavi"", should stand Good, from w^*^ Sentence 
the Appell*^ tendered his appeal but could not obtayne the Entry 
thereof without bonds of 1000" both to be of Good behavi'" & 
to prosecute the appeal. And now the Appell* having in ord"^" to 
the reasons of his appeal, faithfully & with as much brevity as the 
matter will allow, given a; Narrative of the Case upon which he 
hath been proceeded ag*, & punished which if need be may be 
more largely & particularly declared & proved, humbly Craves the 
Hon^'^ Court [&] Jury Seriously & patiently to Consider the Same, 
with the Reasons following — 

Reason. 

1 : The Appellant in his plea onely inti- 

Marr. of : y^ law. 2^ pt mated some foul Cariages, y* strength- 
fol : 50 : ened his Suspicion, which words were 

dark & uncertayne ; neither pson nor fact 
being mentioned, and the law of Engl*^ & Reason tells us , y*^ words 
are not slanderous or actionable except they be 1. pticul'". 2. Ex- 
press or imply an affirmation. 3. sufficient Certainty both in the 



414 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VITI 

thing & pson charged, 4. Plaine. 5'y The thing must be directly 
& in plaine termes and not by inference or argum*^ applyed to the 
pson charged. 6. The things charged must be Such as if true, are 
ag^ some Law, & the pty thereby to be punished. 7. The partyes 
must have some Speciall prejudice. 8. The words spoken must 
be out of a Course of Justice. But how farr the Apellants Words 
fell short as to all these is humbly left to Judgem*^; as to the 
affirmation or Declaration y* m'' Oxenbridge, m'' Allen, & m"" 
Stoddard had falsifyed their trust to & Violated the Gov'"n''s will, 
if a will ; these words were spoken in obedience to the Gov^'n''^ 
Instant Demand, & for the Eeasons abovesaid the Apellant Con- 
ceives him selfe not Culpable. However the words spoken taken in 
the most extensive Sense, (amounting not to Scandalum Magna- 
tum) cannot be Slanderous or criminall, for they charge the ptyes 
with no Speciall nor pticul"" crime nor any fact ag* any law by 
which they are punishable, and the words were spoken in a Course 
of Justice & upon the instant Conmiand or demand of the Judge, 
& in the Appellants Plea. And the Learned Judges of England 
tell us, y*^ if a minister Preaching recite a history', or a Lawyer 

-, . f ,e pleading, doe innocently & pertinently Speake 

JMarrow ; oi y^ i i i • i i -ii • o 

, .^H -^ words whcrebv a man is charged with a crime & 

I o w !£^"*iir ^ 

i ] ■ A'y- ^^ prove false, this is not actionable, & Conse- 

quently not punishable, & if so great a liberty be 
allowed to ministers & Lawyers, The Minister having taken his, it 
scemes not Peasonable y* one Standing both in the place of a lawyer 
& a delinquent (to the last whereof the Law allows largest liberty 
in pleading) Should be abridged or punished for his obedience to 
authority or fair pleading, but Seemes Contrary to a Statute 52 
Henry ."s. IL 

2. The Appell* made no Complaynt nor charge ag* m"* Oxen- 
bridge & m*" Allen as Ministers, nor ag*^ m*" Stoddard as a Com- 
missioner, nor as in any of his Several publick Capacityes, but ag' 
them, as they call them Selves, the Gt)v''n''^ Ex*^^. But in Case 
the Appellants words should amount to Scandalum Magnatum, 
which is onely against Some Duke, Earl, Baron; ChanceF, or 

,r f « 1 oH other cheife officer of the Pealme, yet the 

Marrow, of v® law 2° -i -• iu \-iwi 

~t f } . KCi .'n 1- -'^^^ provides no remedy lor them, till they 

X) 101 '. ou '. v^ooice , . o 1 ]• 1- /I ~i" 

c -.oc /-ill I r bring, & recover bv action, ag*^ the pty 

5 : 125 : Old booke oi i • i i i • A p A 

f E t ' • ^Q'^ Slandering and deiammg them, & after 

•^ ' they have recovered by their action, & not 

before the Law Saith, the pty shall be otherwise punished, nor 

doth any Indictm* lye against any man for defaming the Greatest 

peer or Prelate in England, except it be in the nature of a Libell ; 

But the matter, manner, occasion, & place being as af'said, no 



Chap. VIII] GOVERNOR BELLINGHAM'S WILL 415 

■vr , 1 , f 1 P t • Such thing can he charged upon 
' EntrZ fol : 22/ 4 TlG : S^^ Appellant : And the Judges of 
Marrow of ye law. 2<^ pt ) ^^^^^'^^^ ,^'^1' determined for say- 

-J , p| r f 1 • rQ ( "^S to a Justice or peace, (you have 

not dealt honestly about a will) 
there lyes no action & Consequently no punishm*, And it is to be 
Supposed that a Justice of peace in England , would have at least 
equall respect & dignity with these Execut*'^. 

3. If to falsifye or Violate a will be no crime, then it cannot be 
Criminall to make Complaynt or report thereof. If it is a crime 
then it is ag* King or Countrey & the Charge of Discovery or 
prosecution ought- to be upon y* acc'^ & due inquisition & Exami- 
nation to be made Concerning the fact, & the pson informing or 
Complayning to be incouraged and assisted by authority & meet 
psons appoynted for prosecution. But the Appellant must needs 
conclude this no Crime against King or Country, for y^ he hath 
had no Countenance nor assistance from authority, and although 
a petition hath been presented to this Hon'^'^ Court & other appli- 
cations made to Authority, yet no Examination could be obtaynod 
whereby to make Such a full discover}^ as in the King's or 
Country's case is requisite — 

4. ifor y' The Appellant hath alwayes declared his readyness to 
yeild obedience to the Court in prosecution, provided they would 
thereunto impower him, & direct him to a Law for his warrant, 
y* so in Serving the Country his charge might be borne by the 
Country, our owne Law & the Law of Nations & Reason telling 
us y' no man shall be Compelled to Serve the publick upon his 
owne Charge : & for y* the Appellant hath also offered the ptyes 
to joyne Issue with them if they would Enter an action, which 
if they be injured, is the onely means y^ Laws allow for their 
releife: after which, in case the Appell*^ offence should be found 
Scandalum ]\Iagnatum, besides w* damage they might recover, the 
Appell* might have had the Sentence he now appeals from, or 
other fitt punishm*^ inflicted. 

5. ffor yt ye Appell*, being not Convicted of tlie Breach of any 
Law, is Sentenced to a very Greivous and reproachfull punishm*, 
tending to his Great damage, disparagem*, & for ought he Knows, 
to the mine of his reputation & livelyhood : Theref he humbly 
Craves the Consideration of these fundamental! Laws made ag* 
arbitrary proceedings & punishm*^ in Magna Charta; That a 
freeman shall not be amerced for a Small fault, but after the 
manner thereof, & for a Great fault, after the Greatness thereof : 
And no amerciam* shall be assessed upon any man but by the 
oath of honest, lawfull men of the Vicinage. Chap. 14, And 



416 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Cuap. VIII 

Ch. 29. No man shall be taken, or Imprisoned or be disseised 
of his free-hold or libertyes or free Customes, or outlawed, or 
Exiled, or any other way destroyed but by the lawful! Judgem* of 
his peers, or by the Law of the Land. From the authority & 
Reason of which laws is derived y* first & most just- & defensive 
Law in o"" Law - Booke, to which Every English-man hath in his 
Capacity equal right, & by which their lives, libertyes, peace, & 
priviledges, are onely Secured, & Contrary to which the Appell*^ 
humbly Conceives himselfe to be proceeded ag*^ & punished. 

Wheref^" he humbly Committs his Case & Reasons of Appeale, 
to the Just & Judicious Consideration of the Hon^"*^ Court & Jury 
for lieleife. Praying for such divine direction to & blessing upon 
your determinations & administrations, as may make them Con- 
ducible to the Hon'* of God and this Court, and agreable to Justice, 
& to the peace, priviledge, & prosperity of the people. 

Richd Wharton 
These Reasons were reed : August: 27*'^ 1673 

^ Isaac Addington Cler] 

The answer was dra^^^l in behalf of the court ; and this, so 
far as I have noticed, was the first time that the covirt appeared 
as a party in a criminal complaint. ^^ 

Answers to m? Richard Wharton his prolix impertinent & 
false Narrative of his Severall cases, & pretended Reasons 
for his Appeale in the present case.*^^ 
Whereas in his preface hee craves liberty for further pleas in mat- 
ters of law & proofes in matter of ffact Answer the law allowes 
noe further pleas or proofe then what were made use of in the case 
before the Court appealed from, & this the Appealant well under- 
stands, yet willing to pervert the most known Law to serve his 
own designe: and as to matter of ffact; Answer heres noe matter 
of ffact upon tryall, therefore not triable by a Jury (they being 
proper judges of matter of ffact) the injunction of the Court laide 
on the Appealant which hee calls a Sentance being not for matter 
of ffact, but for want thereof. His first page which might well 
fill three pages of Ordinary writing (which is absolutely contrary 
to law title Appeals, sect : 3. which saith the party appealing shall 
breifely in writing (without reflecting on Court or parties) give 

'- [Teclinieally the question involved was whether the County Court 
could enjoin Rioiiard Wharton to prosecute the trustees on the charge 
that they had violated the Governor's will. It was thus an appeal from 
an order of court. Yet this order of court would have compelled Wharton 
to institute a criminal prosecution.] 

'' A. D. S. Chamberlain MSS., i. 23. 



Chap. VIII] GOVERNOR BELLINGHAAI'S WILL 417 

in the grounds or reasons of his appeale) is an abusive most un- 
worthy & partiale relation of precedent cases, which are not undr 
the cognizance of this Court; wherein hee addes to his former 
practice in reviling & reproaching m? Allin, as not content with 
that, but now takes upon him to reproach. 1. the Grandjury in 
saying they presented him contrary to law, not withstanding him- 
selfe knowes, the crime they presented him for hee put himselfe 
upon tryall of by a Jury & was by them founde guilty. 2'y. The 
Court in his insinuating theire denying of him a legall hearing of 
his pleas & proofe & theire necessitating & forceing of him to the 
breach of law in reproaching m? Oxenbridge m? Allen & m?" Stod- 
dard, by making such a charge publiquely against them & that the 
Court did restreine his proofes & testimonies from the Jury & that 
in perticuler the Gov"*, coiii'anded the Clarke to enter part of his 
words disjoined from the foregoing to render him guilty of con- 
tempt : which the appealant can not but know to bee untrue ; hee 
makes also a false recital! of the words spoken by himselfe in 
Court & there entred : by all & of every of which misdemeanor^ 
(if it bee possible for a person under bonds of good behavioF by 
words in writing undF his hand to breake his bonds, then cer- 
tainly the Appealant must hereof need's bee guilty, which J leaue 
to the judicious consideracon of this hon""^ Court. As to his first 
pretended Eeason though it 's not at all to this case , the words 
gpoken publikely agst mV Oxenbridge raJ" Allen & m? Stoddard doe 
& will appeare to bee approbrious slanderous & actionable & that 
according to the same law of England & reason himselfe recites , 
for that they were perticularly expressly & certainly chargeing 
persons known, in plaine terms with falsehood & unfaithfullness 
in theire trust; which if true, would bee to the great dishonor & 
noe small prejudice of theire persons & punishable both by the 
laws of god & man which words were not spoken in a course of 
justice as hee pretends, but on purpose to vilify & reproach theire 
persons, thereby to alleviate his own crime ; the Appealant herein 
allowing himselfe the overlardge liberty of a lawyer & delinquent, 
thinking to excuse it, with his abusive pretence of obedience to 
Authority or faire pleading : To . his 2^. whereas hee s*'^ hee 
made noe charge ags* mF Oxenbridge & mr Allen as ministers . 
Answer o'" law provides as well against reproaching the persons as 
Offices of ministers ; the Appeal^ having reproached such : Jn his 
third pretended reason hee takes that Liberty to himselfe, which 
hee hath pleaded for & which this hon^^*^ Court will not allow, 
viz* as formerly to abuse & reproach the Courts, soe now this very 
Court also, in casting his unworthy & undeserved aspertions upon 
them, saying that tliis Court hath already judged or implicitely 
VOL. I. — 27 



418 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. VlII 

granted that the falsifying of a trust & violating of a will is noe 
crime w?^ is indeed such a high crime, as all men that haue but 
the shew of religion or civility, & much more this honf*^ Court 
doe abominate : Jn the Managera* of this Argument the Appealant 
hath proved himselfe a meane Sophister, & that his skill in syllo- 
gizing is but small in taking In-Artificiall arguments to proue his 
assertions, who will not stand by him, but to his face deny what 
hee asserts concerning theire testimony, & all the seeming strength 
of his argument is grounded upon this, that the last Court of 
Assistants would not bee drawn out of theire Ordinary course of 
justice & judicature (to meddle with matters not undr theire cog- 
nizance) by the impertinent applications of the Appealant in his 
petition to them; neither doe they by theire not countenansing 
of him in answering his petition, grant that to bee not criminall, 
which is indeed soe apparent a crime. As to his 4^*^ Jts too well 
for the appealants credit known that all his actions speeches & 
behavio'" in the transaction of this buisness haue apparently 
Eendred him not onely disobedient but contumaciously obstinate 
& argue a soure imbittered and perverse spirrit against the Author- 
ity here Established. And whereas hee st^ oF law the law of 
Nations & reason tells us that noe man shalbee compelled to serve 
the publique on his own charge J Answer that the injunction of 
the Court doth not compell the appealant to serve the publique at 
his own charge but in favo'" giues him a liberty to serve himselfe 
in defending his own case; which is criminall by o? law; & if hee 
hath nothing to say for himselfe the Judges might haue proceeded 
to Sentance against him according to that law & by theire injunc- 
tion they show they were willing to hear before they judge. To 
his 5^"^ & last pretended Reason Wherein hee insinuates that hee 
is Sentanced to a great & grevious punishm' tending for ought hee 
knows to the ruine of his reputacon & liuelihood. J Answer the 
Appealant is not yet Sentanced for this crime ; that is yet to come 
in time & place proper for it, unless the Appealant then use better 
pleas & arguments to waue it then as yet hee hath done : Jt 's 
true hee is und^ an injunction of Court to prosecute his charge 
& the Court saw cause to continue him in bonds to the good be- 
havior till hee did prosecute that charge, which is in it selfe not 
onely scandalous & actionable as to the persons charged, but also 
according to o?" law criminall & therefore just reason to oblidge 
him to good behavior untill it was brought to the tryall & if to 
bee of good behavior tends to the Appealants great damage & mine 
ti's pitty but that hee should finde out a better way for his liueli- 
hood : But J haue (by the Appealants prolixity) been drawn to 
spend too much time in a discourse too remote from o^ buisness 



Chap. VIII] GOVERXOR BELLIXGHAM'S WILL 419 

for which J crane excuse : for the Jssiie lies in a very narrow 
compass, viz? whither all the circumstances & aggrevations in the 
case considered the Court had power and Authority to lay such an 
injunction upon the Appealant & then hee appealing from that 
injunction it being in a criminall case hee ought to give in bond 
to prosecute & also to bee of good behavio!" till hee hath soe done; 
which not being matter of ffact, but of law & concerning the 
I^ower honor & Authority of the Court J humbly conceive it by 
o'" law not triable by a Jury which J leaue to the honor^ Court to 
consider of & Subscribe. 

Postscript. Jn behalfe & by Order of the County 

"Whereas it's objected that Court of Suffolke — 

this is a president a case un- Isaac Addington Cler 

heard of & noe record can bee founde of 

the like in any of o? Courts J Answer that scarce any one County 
Court passes in a yeare but there are severall such cases brought 
to it : for it's well known that if any person make a complaint 
against another to a single Majestrate hee heares his complaint 
& also bindes him oyer to prosecute that complaint. J^ow in this 
case the Court was more favorable to the Appealant & did not binde 
him to prosecute his charge but onely by vertue of theire Authority 
enjoine him to doe it without any penalty : and if one single 
Magostrate hath power to require bond then doubtless a County 
Court hath power barely to require a prosecution. 

I:A.C. 
The result of this case before the Court of Assistants does 
not appear. ^^ 

'* [The records of the Court of Assistants for this period are missing. 
In SulF. Early Court Files is a fragment (No. 28,G38) endorsed " Jurjes 
verdict," which reads, — "In the Case of Mr Richard Wharton Appealant 
the Jury ffinds Revertion of the ITormer Sentence." Tliis may be the 
verdict in the case. Whether Wharton's appeal was tried before a jury 
or not, it is certain from the recently discovered records of the County 
Court that Richard Wharton did not prosecute this so-called charge in 
the lower court. The order was issued by the County Court in March. 
The appeal therefrom did not reach the Court of Assistants until Sep- 
tember. It had then become ineffective, as three appeals lay in cases in- 
volving the interpretation or validity of the will. (Infra, chap. ix. and 
appendix.) Missing papers may be discovered in the future that will eluci- 
date this case, as the Early Court Files are still incompletely indexed, 
and are not open to examination.] 



420 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. IX 



CHAPTEE IX 

CONTEST FOR THE BELLIXGHAM ESTATES BEGINS 

AS we have seen, Governor Bellingham died December 7, 
1C72. His will, dated iSTovember 28, was probated 
December 19, and January 24, 1G72/3, Wharton made his 
deposition impugning its validity. Neither party claiming 
his estate, Richard Wharton for Samuel Bellingham the heir- 
at-law, or James Allen, the most active of the executors 
and trustees under the will, waited for the daisies to gi'ow 
upon the old governor's grave before beginning the contest. 
Each deemed it important to take possession of the lands by 
putting tenants on the several parcels to hold under the respec- 
tive claimants. The governor owned lands besides those at 
Winnisimmet, not disposed of by his will. Among other 
estates was a pasture on Boston neck, into which according 
to the testimony of Peter Lorphlyn ^ and James Pennyman ~ 
they, with Richard AMiarton and John Blake, went peacefully 
December 31, 1G72, and without opposition; and when there 
"W^iarton gave possession thereof to Blake in the name and for 
the use of Samuel Bellingham, and asked Pennyman to nail up 
the gate, which he did, as he said. The evidence of this tak- 
ing possession was written and sworn to June 3, 1673, in the 
Court before which the case, soon to be mentioned, was tried. ^ 
On the day of taking possession of the Boston pasture 
" Richard AATiarton, Attourny to Doctor Samuell Bellingham, 
the onely sonne & heire to Richard Bellingham," on the one 
part, and John Blake of Boston, shopkeeper, on the other, 
made an indenture of lease of the same land, described as " all 
that peece & parcell of pasture ground late belonging to the 

^ Peter Lorphlyn, or Lorphelin, was, Savage says, Gen. Diet., iii. 119, 
"A Frenchman, put in the pillory 1G79, for clipping money, and probably 
went away as soon as he could." He had been in Boston six years at 
least. 

'^ See 0. A. Roberts, Hist, of the Anc. and Hon. Artillery Company, i. 
224. 

=» Chamberlain MSS., i. 29. [Infra, p. 430.] 



Chap. IX] CONTEST FOR BELLINGHAM ESTATES 421 

saide Richard Bellingiiam Esq"" lying in the South west ffeilds 
or lotts belonging to the Towne of Boston, neere the highway 
leading to Roxborough & is fronted by the land of James 
Pennyman & the house & land wherein Angola ^ the IsTegro 
dwells & by a narrow passadge along by the dwelling of s*^ 
Angola leading to the s'' pasture, which containes by Estima- 
tion two acres & a halfe." The lease was for a year, and the 
rent fifty shillings, with abatement for repairing the fences 
about the grounds.^ 

The title of the trustees in the Boston estates does not ap- 
pear, since only those at Winnisimniet were devised to them 
by the Governor's will.^ ^Nevertheless three months later 
'' sometime in Aprill," 1673, Anthony Stoddard, one of the 
trustees, not knowing, so far as appears, of the entry for Dr. 
Bellingiiam, or of the lease to Blake, went into the same pas- 
ture with Captain Edward Hutchinson, and gave him pos- 
session thereof " for one wdiole yeare." The witnesses to this 
entry declare that Stoddard said he acted " with the consent 
of the other Executors." ^ As will appear in the record of the 
appeal, a point was made of their absence. Captain Hutch- 
inson being tenant, as he supposed, turned " a bay horse " 
into the pasture, which John Blake no sooner discovered 
than he clapped him into the pound. Captain Hutchinson 

* Of this " Angola the Negro " Governor Bellingham said, — " he w.as 
the onely instrument that under God saved my life, comeing to mee with 
his boate when I was sunke in the River betwene Boston & Winisimet, 
severall years since, & layd hold of mee & got me into the boate; he came 
in and saved my life, which kindnese of him I remember; and besides 
my giveing him fifty foot square of my land, to him and his, I shall see 
hee shall not want whilst 1 live." (Boston Rec. Com. Rep., v. 23, note.) 
[Also Suff. Deeds, L. 8, f. 298. April 20, 1654, Angolla, a negro servant 
of Captain Robert Keayne, was married to Elizabeth, a negro servant of 
Edward Hutchinson. (Boston Rec. Com. Rep., ix. 48.) Captain Keayne 
left by will 40s. to Angola {Ibid., x. 25). In 1675 the estate of Angola 
Negro was settled by the Suffolk County Court on Elizabetii, his widow, 
for life, with reversion to his children. (Court Records, I671-16S2, 315).] 

' Chamberlain :\ISS., i. 15; iufni, p. 429. 

' [At the April term of the County Court in 1673 the trustees pre- 
sented an inventory of Governor Bellingham's whole estate. It was 
accepted by the court, although with the exception of the life interest 
of Mrs. Bellingham in the mansion house the disposal of the lands in 
the peninsula of Boston, and of the personal estate of the Governor was 
in no wise provided for by the will. See infra, p. 427.] 

' Chamberlain MSS., i. 27. [Infra, p. 430.] 



422 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. IX 

replevied the horse, giving bonds with Stoddard as his surety 
and put the horse back into the pasture again, out of which 
Blake once more led him back to the pound, and Hutchin- 
son once more resorted to his writ of replevin. The battle 
over the Bellingham estate, thus joined, began at the July term 
of the County Court ^ at Boston, in 1673, and raged inter- 
mittently until August 28, 1787, one hundred and fourteen 
years. 

In this first encounter in the County Court it is evident, 
though the proceedings are not found,^ that the trustees were 
cast and took an appeal to the upper court; but the reasons 
of appeal and answers thereto I give entire, though I have 
intermingled them so that they may be seen in immediate 
sequence. The case was made to turn on the priority of pos- 
session, the law being that the party in possession held until 
another proved a better title. 

" Edward Hutchinson his Eeasons of Appeale from y^ County 
Courts Judgem*^ in July last in a caise of Keplevin betwixt Edward 
Hutchinson & John Blake " ; ^° and " John Blake his answer to 
Cap* Hutchinson's Eeasons of Appeale." 

* [The two replevins, which Judge Chamberlain notes above, were to 
different courts, the first to the County Court which met in July, the 
second to the Commissioners Court in June. The latter was a local 
tribunal for the town of Boston, established in 1651 to lessen the pressure 
of business in the County Court. The judges were elected annually by 
the freemen of Boston, and were confirmed by the Court of Assistants. 
Captain Thomas Clarke, Richard Parker, Humphrey Da\y, Lieutenant 
Richard Cooke, Anthony Stoddard, Captain Edward Hutchinson, and 
Lieutenant Thomas Clarke had been chosen by Boston in October, 1G72. 
In civil actions the court had jurisdiction in suits where the value of ten 
pounds or less was involved. It could, therefore, consider only the right 
of possession not the title to the land in question. At the Commissioners 
Court in June judgment was pronounced for Captain Hutcliinson, and 
John Blake appealed to the Court of Assistants. At the County Court 
in July, the verdict and judgment were for John Blake, and Captain 
Hutchinson appealed to the Court of Assistants. See infra, pp. 429-437, 
the proceedings in both courts, and the reasons of appeal from the Com- 
missioners Court.] 

" [The records of the County Court, 1671 to 1680, have recently been 
discovered. A copy of the judgment is also filed in Suff. Early Court 
Files, No. 1225. Infra, p. 436.] 

" Chamberlain MSS., i. 31. [This is a copy. The original, in Suff. 
Early Court Files, No. 1225, Paper 10, bears the following autograph 
endorsements: "These Reasons were received August 27tli 1673 p Isaac 

" Chamberlain MSS., i. 33. 



Chap. IX] CONTEST FOR BELLINGHAM ESTATES 423 

[Hutchinson.] ffirst 1 apprehend y^ Jury mistooke in y"^ ver- 
dict, for a spetial verdict by law is if y^ law be in such a point we 
finde for y^ pi. if y^ law be otherwise we finde for y^ def*^. but in 
this verdict be y^ law what it will they finde for y^ def*. 

[Blake, Answer.] First The Appell*^ upon the Supposition of 
the Jurye's mistake manifests his owne for their Verdict was no 
Speciall but a certayne Verdict. If the Case actionable then they 
found for the Defend*, if not actionable, it needed nor Should not 
have. Come to them, & the Same Judgem* then must needs have 
been given for the Defend* but they being modest were willing to 
leave the Determination, whether actionable or not, to the Court, 
which howsoever would still have been y^ Same 

[Hutchinson.] 2'y y® Jury as I app^'hend in this mistooke 
also, for Ed: Hutchinson is but A constrained pi, for m"" 
Blake first impounded my horse, & I forced to Replevin him, 
so he is y^ original pi. & I y^ pp def*. & according to law was 
forced to giue in ten" pounds bond to answer his damage, w*^** 
is found none by y^ Jury, & how they could finde then for him 
& giue no damage I do not vnderstand, & therefore I humbly 
conceiue they gaue noe verdict in y^ caise, or at best a mis- 
taken verdict. 

[Blake, Answer.] 2*^ The Appell* in charging the Jury 
with a wrong verdict, also chargeth the Judges with a weake 
Judgem* : for by w' he saith, neither the one nor the other 
could discerne or Know the plaintiffe from the Defend* But 
had he been in his horses stead, y* shift of being a Constrained 
plaintiffe might have been a more covert Cloake und^' which, 
if the Defend* had not Knowne upon w* occasion he came to 
Court, the Appell* might have shufled the Defend* into 
his place by Such Legerdemaine Interchanging cases, places 
& pleas, his 2*^ p* of his first Eeason would not have been 
altogether So unreasonable. 

[Hutchinson.] 2'y The Jury owned. in open Court m"" Wharton 
had no right to lease out y® land y* was y*' late Gou"" Belinghams, 
vnder p^'tens of his letter of Atturney from Doc* Belingham, & 

Addington Cler"; also " Capta. Hutehinsons Reasons of Appeale . wch 
wcr not deliiird into ye Court by mr Addington — tho when ye action was 
Called he affirmd publickly & made it a Contest & he tenderd his oath yt 
he had so donn : that I was forcd to make vse of mf Whartons Copie 
vndertaking to Give him another. Refusing sucii was his Confidenc to look 
for yem yet afterwrds ye next day brought them to me & acknowldgd he 
had mislayd them: as Attests E. R. S." Isaac Addington was Clerk of the 
County Court; Edward Rawson was Secretary of the Court of Assistants.] 



424 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. IX 

y^'fore m'" Blaike could not haue more right then m"^ Wharton 
could giue him, w^^ was none at all, by y^ Jurys Judgcm^ & 
therefore so vniustly impounded my horse, & my replevin iust. 

[Blake, Answer.] 2^ If the Jury owned (which the Defend* 
Doubts) That Wharton had no right to Ictt out the Land und"" 
pretence of his letter of Attourney: The Judges declared y* the 
Appell*^ Landlords had no power upon pretence of y^ Gov^'n'"^ will 
to lett out the Land, & the one being certaine & the other but 
Supposed, The Defend*^^ Title ag* the AppelF must needs be Good 
law & Reason declaring y* possession is a Good Title till a better 
be proved. 

[Hutchinson.] 3'y for y^ land in controuersy Gou'" Belingham 
dyed possest of it, his Executors & Trustees haueing pued y^ will, 
& giuen an Inuentory into y^ Court vpon oath of y*^ estaite, where 
of this land is part, & therefore of necesity it must needs nextly 
fall into there possetion, & desposall to lett out. 

[Hutchinsion.] 4'.y Doct Belingham himselfe (much lesse an 
Atturney, & farr lesse any p'^tended Atturneyship as to y* pteculer, 
or any by or vnder him) can not haue any thing of that Estaite 
till there be an orderly demand of y^ Executors & a legall recouery, 
w*^*^ was neuer donne, & therefore my right good. 

[Blake, Answer.] 3. & 4. To these two Reasons, one may be a 
Sufficient answer; That, had y® Gov^'nV made the Appell^^ Land- 
lords Ex^'^ Trustees, & Feoffees Generally to Dispose of all his 
Estate, either according to his, or their owne wills, the truth of 
w* he alledges would have been Subscribed to, but having limited 
their Trust, ffeoffem*, Ex^"ship to his Estate at Winnisimett wholly 
omitting this in Controversy, it naturally & Legally descends to 
y^ Heyr. Theref these two Reasons of the Appellants import 
no more then any one of their fore-runners. 

[Hutchinson.] 5'^ if it should be Judged legall w^'^ I conccaue 
can not be, y* any vpon patens may come & take possetion of an 
others land & lease it out, & y* lease be good while elected by law, 
then no man is suer of what he hath, but may be molested in his 
iust right w*'^ out any culler of law (as I am in this caise) Ess- 
petially considering m"" Wharton gaue y*^ his Illcgall possetion to 
m^' Blake in y^ winter, when no man had ocation to looke after 
such paster land, neither did he it [gain?] by any corse of law, nor 
y^ Executors who was possest of it not being informed of it by him 
or any in his behalfe. 

[Hutchinson.] G'y My goods being impounded I was forced to 
replevin, & so to proseed by way of Siuill Action, yet vnder cor- 
rection, I humbly conceaue it also Criminall, & therefore craue y® 
Courts serious consideration. 



Chap. IX] CONTEST FOR BELLINGHAM ESTATES 425 

[Bhike, Answer.] 5. If the Law had not according to Eeason 
prudently provided, y* one being peaceably possessed of Land 
should (by whomsoever pretending title thereto) Continue his 
possession till Legally ejected, then Club-Law in this Case would 
goe farthest ; But the Laws of o^" owne nation, this & aU the Col- 
onyes thereto belonging, & all Civill Kingdoms & States, being 
Such a hedge to o"^" peace, the breaking thereof can hardly be 
Construed a Civill action but according to the appellants phrase, 
is humbly Conceived to be Criminall & ought to Come und"* 
Correction. 

The foregoing " Reasons," signed by Hutchinson and filed 
August 27, 1673, were probably written by Addington, the 
Clerk of the Court.^^ His legal notions were certainly crude. 
John Blake signed his own " Answers," but they were doubt- 
less drawn by Wharton, who, if not educated as a lawyer, 
evidently had some familiarity with legal business and legal 
principles. The result of the case in the appeal is not given; 
but doubtless it was for Blake, as in the court below.^^ 

" [The original, in Suff. Early Court Files, No. 1225, Paper 10. is not 
in the handwriting of Isaac Addington. Captain Hutchinson was familiar 
with court proceedings. In 1674/5, the County Court appointed him to 
prosecute and implead Ezekiel ffogg for misdemeanours for which the 
latter stood bound to the court. (Court Record, 1671-1080, p. 300.) Also 
he had served as a judge in the Commissioners Court since 1670.] 

^^ [The Bill of Costs shows that Blake won both appeals. Richard 
Wharton, attorney for Blake, charged for three days' attendance at the 
County Court, and nine days at the Court of Assistants. The bill was 
dated September 16, 1673. See infra, pp. 429-440, for the papers in this 
and the following suits. At the April term of the County Court the 
trustees sued Lieutenant John Smith for the rent of the Ferry farm, a 
life interest in which had been given by the will to Dr. Samuel Belling- 
ham and his daughter; they recovered. This judgment was confirmed 
by the Court of Assistants at the same term at which the judginents above 
mentioned were reversed. July 25, 1673, the trustees secured an attach- 
ment against Ebenezer Hayden for five years' rent of a shop belonging to 
the estate of Governor Bellingham in Boston. The case was tried at the 
October term of the County Court after the decisions above cited had been 
rendered in the Court of Assistants. The trustees lost. No appeal was 
taken. (MSS. Records of the County Court, 1071-1680, p. 167.) At the 
April term of the County Court in 1674 the trustees made complaint that 
" Mr Richard Wharton had unjustly molested & disquieted '' William 
Eustace tenant at Winnisimmet of the farm " formerly occupied by 
Nicholas Rice," and had " turned the sd. Eustas his goods out of dores." 
The Court, upon Wharton's acknowledgment of the same, ordered the 
Marshall of Suffolk to reinstate Eustace. 

The line of delimitation marked out by the Court of Assistants, and 
followed by the County Court, seems clear. The executors were deemed 



426 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. IX 

trustees of that part of Governor Bellingham's estate bequeathed to their 
care by the will, — that is, of the farms at Winnisiinmet; but were 
allowed no power of control over the real estate of the governor situated 
elsewhere. Richard Wharton so managed that the trustees had to begin 
proceedings, placing him and liis tenants in the position of defendants. 
Thus the executors were forced to prove title, and could not press the 
question wfiethcr Wliarton possessed a power of attorney, legally proved, 
from the heir at law that would justify him in assuming control over 
such lands of Richard Bellingham deceased as were not bequeathed by 
will.] 



Chap. IX] APPENDIX 1 427 



APPENDIX 1 

[An Jnventory '■ of the Estate of the late Richard Bellingham 

ESQK LATE Gov" OF THE MASSACHUSETTS COLONY IN NeW ENG- 
LAND TAKEN & APPRIZED BY VS WHOSE NAMES ARE UNDERWRITTEN. 

YE 20 Decembu 167 2 

[Household goods & clothing in the house T £ s. d. 
in Boston including a library of books, ) 157 : 03 : 03 

£30 1 034 : 16 : 

[ 008 : 03 : 04 

Jn Mony 140 : 01 : 

Jn the 4 ft'armes at Winnisiiliett. viz: in the occupacon of 
leift Smith one of 50£ o yeere. in the occupcon of 
Jeremiah Belcher one of 10£ p yeere in the occupacon 
of Saiuuell Townsend of . 40£ p yeare . in the occu- 
pacon of Nicholas Rice one of . 20£ p yeere . all is . 
120£ p yeer at : 16 . yeer's purchase .is 1920 

a parcell of Marsh in the occupacon of Newbarry 

of Charlstowne rented for . 20s p yeere 0016 

a parcell of Marsh in the occupacon of Chamberlin 

rented, at . 3£ p yeer 0048 

A pasture in Boston being about. 2% .acre more or less 
lying at the South end of the Town butting upon 
Angola's liouse & joines to the land of Mr Colborn at . 0250 

The ground upon the Hill behinde my Davenports . . . 0030 

The Dwellingliouse & ground belonging to it & Shop's 

before it 0600 : : 

Stock at Boston d Winnisimett 

2 . Cows & one horse wtn Bridle & Saddle at Boston . . . 0010 : 10 : 

2 Mares one about : 10 : the other about 8 . yeers old . . 0008 : 00 : 

3 . about : 4 . yeers old 0010 : : 

2 . about . 3 . yeers old & one about : 2 . yeers old .... 0007 : 00 : 

2 . last yeers Colts . 40s 2 heifers of . 2 . yeers old . 50s is 0004 : 10 : 

Apprised by us Edward Hutchinson seni" £19^4 • 03 • 07 

Thomas Clarke senr 

Before this Jnventory was Sworn to the ExecutoF^ did declare in 
Court Aprill: 2^J\^^ 1673; that here is not Jnventoried either 

' SuflT. Prob. Rec, L. 7, flf. 303-305. This appraisal is dated December 
20, 1672, but at the January term the County " Court grants liberty to 
the late Governors Executors till the next Court to bring in an Inventory 
of that Estate." Tlie inventory was presented at the April, not at the 
March term of court. Possibly the executors delayed awaiting the out- 
come of Wharton's expected prosecution. 



: 





: 





: 





: 





: 






428 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. IX 

Debt's due to or oweing from the Estate because not yet known 
fully./. Mr John Oxenbridge mr James Allen & mr Anthony 
Stoddard ExecutoV^ to the last will of the late Richard Bellingham 
Esq? deceased, made Oath in Court Aprill 29^1^ 1673; that this 
paper conteines a just & true Jnventory of the Estate of the late 
Eichard Bellingham Esq? deceased to theire best knowledge & that 
when they know more, they will discover the same. done, 
as Attests. Isaac Addington Cler.] 



Chap. IX] APPENDIX 2 429 



APPENDIX 2 

[Blake vs. Hutchinson 

Lease from Richard Wharton to John Blahe ^ 

This Indenture made the Sl*'^ of Decemb'" 1672: Between Eichard 
Wharton Attoumy to Doctor Sariiuell Bellingham the onely sonne 
& heire to Eichard Bellingham Esq"" late Governo^" of the Massachu- 
setts Colony deceased, of the one P*^ & John Blake of Boston Shop- 
keeper on the ther P* Witnesseth that the saide Eichard Wharton 
for & in the behalfe of the saide Samuell Bellingham Hath 
set & to ffarme lett & doth by these presents set & to ffarme lett 
unto the saide John Blake & his assignes all that peece & parcell 
of pasture ground late belonging to the saide Eichard Belling- 
ham Esq^" lying in the South west ffeilds or lotts belonging to 
the Towne of Boston neere the highway leading to Eoxborough 
& is fronted by the land of James Pennyman & the house & land 
wherein Angola the Negro dwells & by a narrow passadge along 
by the dwelling of s^ Angola leading to the s^ pasture, which 
containes by Estimation two acres & a halfe bee the same more or 
less & is according to the bounds shewed the saide Blake bounded 
& inclosed To have & to hold to him the saide Blake & his 
assignes all the saide parcell of pasture land & ground from the 
day of the date hereof for one whole yeare the saide Blake or his 
assignes paying therefore to the saide Samuell Bellingham or his 
assignes or Attournys the sume of ffifty Shillings curr* mony of 
New England at or before the last day of Decemb'" next ensuing 
& the saide Eichard Wharton doth hereby on the behalfe of &^ 
Samuell Bellingham Covenant & premiss to & with the s^ John 
Blake to warrant & defend him in the quiet and peaceable posses- 
sion of the p''emisses from all persons claiming any right or title 
from the saide Eichard Bellingham deceased or him the saide 
Samuell Bellingham And that what the saide John Blake shall 
disburst or expend for Eepairing the saide ffences about the saide 
grounds shalbee defalked & abated out of the aforesaide Eent. In 
Witness whereof the pties hereunto haue jnterchangably set theire 
hands & Scales the day & yeare first abouewritten. 

^ Copy attested by Isaac Addington, Clerk of the Suffolk County Court. 
Chamberlain MSS., i. 15. 



430 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chaf. IX 

Sealed & delivered in presence of Eichd. Wharton & a Seal. 

Benjamin Alford — Peter Lorphelin . 

Owned in Court by m^' liicliard Wharton that this is his act 
& deed 29 : 5m« 16?3. as Attests tt'ree Grace Bendall Cler.^ • 

Copia Vera. Attest^ ^ : Isaac Addington Cler. 

Testimonij of Peter Lorplilyn and James Penniman ^ 

Peter Lorphlvn and James Penniman Testifie that vpon the last 
day of December last past, being requested by Eichard Wharton, 
[they] went with him into a peece of pasture ground lyeing behind 
y^ depones Pennimans house & Land, in Boston, on the North side 
of the way to Eoxbury. And they with the said Wharton and m'^ 
John Blake went peace ably without any opposition into the said 
pasture, by the gate way, and there, vppon the said pasture, the said 
Wharton gaue possession thereof to m^ John Blake in the name 
and for the vse of Doctor Samuell Bellingham, as heyre to the 
late deceased Governor, & y* the said Wharton left the said Blake 
in possession, and that the said Wharton and Blake requested y® 
deponant Penniman to nayle vp the gate, and he the deponant 
Penniman saith, that accordingly he did nayle vp the gate, and 
further they say not. 

Swome in Court 3 June 1673 
as attest Eobert Howard Cleric 
Cur Comiss. 

This is a true Coppy of the originall word for word as it stands 
on file amongst the Eecords of the Comissioners Court heild at 
Boston the third of June 1673 & out thence drawne and examined 
the 25 of August 1673 

^1 Eobert Howard Cleric Cur Comiss/ 

Testimony of John Deacon and Jacob Eliot ^ 

The testimonies of John Deacon aged seaventy three or there 
abouts and of Jacob Eliot aged 41 or there about, say that some- 

^ At the May term of the County Court, in 1673, Isaac Addin<Tton was 
ordered to resign the position of clerk with the records and papers to 
FreeGrace Bendall, " who is hereby restored to that place." At tlie July 
term of court Isaac Addington was appointed Clerk of the County Court, 
and FreeGrace Bendall Recorder of Suffolk County. Suff. Co. Court Rec, 
1671-1080, pp. 108, 139, 153. 

° Copy attested by Robert Howard, Clerk of the Commissioners Court. 
SuflF. Early Court Files, No. 1225, Paper No. 7. 

* Endorsed. " Lorphlyn and Pennimans testimony in the Case of capt. 
Hutchinson agt Blake at Crs: Ct 3 June 1673"; also "Blake agt 
Hutchinson " 

' Copy attested as above. Ibid., Paper No. 11. 



Chap. IX] APPENDIX 2 431 

time in Aprill Last past they being in a pasture belonging to 
Governor Bellingham' deceased formerly, they did see m"" Anthony 
Stoddard with the consent of the other Executors (as he said) 
when he gaue possession of the said past[ure] to Captayne Edward 
Hutchinson for one whole yeare, they being desired to be witnesses 
thereto. Swome in Court 3 June 1673 

as attest Robert Howard Cleric 

Cur Comiss. 
This is a true Coppie of the originall word for word as it stands 
on file amongst the Records of said Comissioners Court heild at 
Boston the said third of July 1673 & out thence drawne & exam- 
ined the 25 July 1673. 

^ Robert Howard Cleric Cur Comiss.® 

Testimony of Richard Wayte "^ 

Cap* Edward Hutchinson had a bay horse impounded by John 
Blake in Boston : Cap* Hutchinson replevied the horse for the 
next County Court to bee held at Boston in July next Ensuing, 
the very next day the same horse was impounded againe by the 
saide John Blake whereupon Cap* Hutchinson did replevin him 
againe to bee tried at the Coihission^'^ Court to bee held at Boston 
the third day of June. 

p mee Rich : Wayte. 
Sworn in saide Coihission'"^ Court . 3 . June . 1673. 
as Attest. Robert Howard Cleric. 

This is a True Coppie of the Originall word for word as it stands 
on file amongst the Records of saide Coihission''^ Court & out 
thence drawn & examined the 28*^ July : 1673 p p^ d* 

Robert Howard Cleric. 
Cur Comiss. 
This is a true Coppie as Attests. Isaac Addington Cler 

Copy of Court Record in Hutchinson vs. Blake ^ 

At a Commissioner^ Court heild at Boston the third of June 1673. 

The Coppie of the Judgm* & appeale. 

Captaine Edward Hutchinson plaintife against John Blake vppon 
a replevin of one ba3 horse of said captaine Edward Hutchinsons 
Impounded p said Blake &e. 

° Endorsed. " Cop : of Deacons & Eliotts oath in Hutchinsons case agt 
Blake at Crs : Ct : 3 June 1673." 

^ Copy attested as above. Chamberlain MSS., i. 27. 
' Suff. Early Court Files, No. 1225, Paper No. 1. 



432 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. IX 

M^ Anthony Stoddard declared in said court. That m"" John Oxen- 
bridge, m^' James Allen, with him the said Stoddard, did let vnto 
said Captayne Edward Hutchinson as tenant for one yeare, The 
pasture which was the late goQners neere the neck in Boston, 
And that he the said Stoddard gaue the said Hutchinson possession 
thereof, with the consent of the said Oxenbridge and Allen, who 
both appeared in said Court, and declared to the truth aforesaid. 
Which said Keplevin and all other writings and evidences in the 
case being red & duely considered by the Court, The said Court 
found for the plaintife Cost of Court fourtcene shillings eight 
pence money. 

The said John Blake appealed from the Judgm* of said Commis- 
sioners Court to the Court of Assistance, And he the said Jolm 
Blake with Eichard Wharton his suerty, binds themselves Joyntly 
and severally in the sume of five pounds vnto the Tresurer of this 
county and parties therein concerned. That he said John Blake, 
shall and will prosecute this his Appeale to effect. 

This is a true Coppy of the Judgment of Court with the 
Appeale as it stands uppon record in the said Court booke 
of Eecords & out thence dra-wne & examined the 19 day of 
August 1673 %^ Robert Howard Cleric Cur Comiss. 

Bill of Costs in Commissioners Court." 

Edw : Hiichinson bill cost in the Action 
of Repleuen agt Jno Blake./ — 

I s d 

paid by poundage 00 : 00 : 4 

paid the Clerke for the Replevin 00 : 00 : 06 

paid serveing and bond 00 : 01 : 04 

copie of the Govr Bellinghams will .... 00 : 02 : 00 

Summons for witnesses 00 : 00 : 02 

3 witnesses one day 00 : 04 : 06 

my owne Attendance 00 : 01 : 06 

entering the action 00 : 03 : 04 

fileing papers 00 : 01 : 00 

00 14 : OS 
Allowed p Cur 3 June 1673 
attest Robert Howard clerc 

Eeasons of Appeal to the Court of Assistants 
BY John Blake ^^ 

John Blake his Reasons of Appeal from a judge- 
ment obtayned against him by Cap* Edward 

* Copy attested as above. Ibid'., Paper No. 13. 

" Draft apparently in the handwriting of Richard Wharton with sig- 



Chap. IX] APPENDIX 2 433 

Hutchinson, at a Commissioners Court at Boston 
held 3^ June 1673 — 

1. The trespass, the Impounding, & Repleving, did arise & were 
to be Determined vpon a Claime or pretence of title which the then 
Plaintiff made to Land In possession of the Appellant vallued by 
the said Hutchinson at trv'O .hundred & fifty pounds, the action was 
not tryable at that Court their power being not higher than for 
ten pounds — 

2. For that the persons from whom Cap* Hutchinson Ptends 
to Deriue his title never had any themselues, the will by him 
pduced making noe mention of any Land with which they are 
to Intermedle But that at winnisymett, as In an other Case is 
since Determined by the County Court — 

3. For that Ml" Stoddard alone, pretending the Consent of m'' 
Oxenbridge & m'" Allen as the testimony declares, gave possession 
to Cap* Hutchinson whereas the paper Called a will saith there 
must be the Consent of three to make a vallid act. But the Consent 
of Cap* Hutchinson's other two Land Lords appears by nothing 
but by m^" Stoddards words till they Came to Court which was 
about two moneths after possession was given and 14 dayes after 
the Replevin was executed — 

4. That the Appellant had Peacable possession at least three 
monthes before Cap* Hutchinson & Law & Reason Inform that 
Possession is a good title till a better [is] proved — 

5. Where there is noe Damage there Lyes noe action But noe 
Damage appears to be Done to Cap* Hutchinson therefore none is 
granted him Notwithstanding the Appellant is Condemned to pay 
Cost of Court by which It is humby presumed that it will appeare 
that the action was vnjust & the Judgement Erronious 

P"" me John Blake 
Delivered vnto the Clarke of the comissioners Court 
the 27**^ day of August in the afterpart of said day 
before sonne sett./ 

as attest Robert Howard Cleric Cur Comiss 

Captain Hutchinson's Answer to Blake's Reasons 
OF Appeal " 

Edward Hutchinson his Answer to y* reasons 
of Appeale giuen in by John Blake from a 

nature of John Blake and endorsement by Robert Howard, Clerk. Ihid., 
Paper No. 9. 

" Ibid., Paper No. 8; no date. 
VOL. I. — 28 



434: HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. IX 

Jiidgm* obtaind ag* him at a Coinisnr^ Court 
at Boston held 3 June 1673 
To the first 

The trespas, Impounding & Repleuing did not arise, nor was not 
to be determined vpon a claime of title y® then pi' made to land 
&c. for there was a replevin before y* to y^ Countie Court, for y® 
trial of the tittle as tenant to y® Countie Court, & bonde giuen in 
according to law to answer y^ Damages of y^ then Defe^ & this 
replin was onely for vniust molestation of liim y^ then pl*^ haue- 
ing giuen bond as before, & therefore triable at y*^ Comisioners 
Court. Further y*^ appealant pleaded it not triable at y^ Countie 
Court because he said it was not 40s damage, (& 3-et his lease — 
yt he p^'tends to is 50s rent) & at y^ Comisn^ Court his plea is it 
is not triable there because their power is not aboue ten pounds, 
so he would haue it triable no where. 
To }-« 2^ 

The psons from whome Hutchinson deriues his title, had it by 
Gou^ Belinghams Will, they being Executors & Trustees, & by 
vertue of Executorship had possetion of all y* was y^ late Gou*" 
Belinghams. & this in pteculer, being Inventoried & y^ Inventory 
allowed, or else how could m"" Blaik know it was prised at '250^ by 
Hutchinson, who was one of y* Apprisers of Gou^ Belinghams 
estaite. And all Executors are bound by oath to giue a true 
Inventor}' of y* whole estaite of y® deceased, w^^ was donne 
accordingly. 
To ye 3^ 

m"" Stodard did not p'^tend y^ consent of m'" oxenbrige &m^ 
Allen, for it was a reall consent, being hired before of them all 
three, w*^ all y"" consents. & he onely appointed by them to giue 
possetion in all there names, as they declaird in Court. 
To ye 4tti 

That y® Appealant had peaceable possetion 3 months is denyed, 
for ye Executors was in possetion of y^ land from Gou'* Belinghams 
Death, & never legally disposest, & as soone as it was convenient to 
look after such paster land in y^ Spring they did it, & as they had 
before let it so they then gaue me peasable possetion. therefore 
y® Appealants patens of possetion is Clandestine. & y® Executors 
Icgall. for ye Jury declaird m'^" Wharton had noe right to Lett ye 
land to Blake. & therefore noe power to giue or take possetion. 
To ye 5tb 

"Where as there is no damage there lyes no Action S:c. AnswF 
I shall turne ye Argument vpon him selfe. for if m"" Blaike who 
was indeede ye first pi* by impounding my horse, had bene damni- 
fied, & his title good, then both ye Countie Court & Coihisr^ Courts, 



CiiAP. IX] APPEXDIX 2 435 

would liaiie giuen him damage, but neither did; therefore his 
title not good, for my replevin was onely to redeeme my horse & 
y*^ I might j»ue I was no trespaser to him. & haueing as I hope 
proued it fully, for my damage it must be left to an other Action, 
for a replevin makes no demand of damage, but he y*^ replevies is 
bound to Answer y*^ others damage & therefore y*^ Judgm' not 
erronius as is p^'tended. 

Hutchinson vs. Blake 

Eeplevin to the Countv Court ^^ 

To the ]\Iarshall or Constable of Boston or 
either of theire Deputies. 
You are hereby Required in his Maj**^^ Name to Eeplevy one bay 
horse now impounded by John Blake & deliver the same to Cap' 
Edward Hutchinson provided hee give bond to the valine of ten 
pounds with sufficient Surety or Surety's to prosecute his replevin 
at the next County Court to bee holden at Boston & soe from Court 
to Court till the cause bee ended & to pay such costs & damages as 
the saide John Blake shall by law recover against him & soe make 
a true return hereof under y'^' hand. Dated . 16 . May . 16T3. 

. By the Court Jonath : Negus. 
This is a true Coppie as Attests . Isaac Addington Cler 
Endorsed. 

I haue replevied a bay horse impounded by John Blake in 
Boston this . 16*^ of May & haue delivered him to Cap* 
Edward Hutchinson ^ mee Eich : Wayte Marshall. 
"Wee Edward Hutchinson & Anthony Stodder doe binde o"" selues 
heires & Executo^"^ unto Eichard Wayte Marshall in the sume of 
ten pounds upon condicon the saide Cap*^ Edward Hutchinson shall 
prosecute his replevin at the County Court to bee held at Boston 
to Effect & soe from Court to Court till y*^ case bee ended & to pay 
such costs & damages as the saide Blake shall by law recover 
against him & that hee shall abide the order of the Court & not 
depart without Licence as Witness o*^ hands this . 16'^ of May : 
1673. Edward Hutchinson 

This is a true Coppie as Attests , Isaac Addington Cler 

" Copy attested by the Clerk of the County Court. Chamberlain MSS., 
i. 25. 



436 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. IX 

Copy of Court Record ^^ 

At a County Court held at Boston, July: 29*^ 1673. 

Cap* Edward Hutchinson plaintiffe against John BLake Defend* 
upon a Eeplevin : After the Keplevin & Evidences in the case 
produced were read coniitted to the Jury & remaine on file with 
the Eecords of this Court The Jury brought in a special! verdict : 
i.e. if actionable in this Court they finde for the Defend* costs 
of Court 

The Magistrates declare it actionable : The plaintifl'e appealed 
from the judgment of this Court to the next Court of Assistants 
& the saide Cap* Edward Hutchinson as principall in five pounds 
m? Anthony Stoddard & m? ffreeGrace Bendall as Sureties in fifty 
Shillings apeice acknowledged themselves respcctiuely bound to 
the Treasure'" of the County of Suft'olke & party concerned on con- 
dicbn that the saide Cap* Edward Hutchinson should prosecute 
his appCcUe from y^ judgment of this Court at the next Court of' 
Assistants to Efi^ect. 

This is a true Coppie as Attests 

Isaac Addingtou Cler.^* 

Bill of Costs in County Court." 
Capt Hutchinson pit 

John Blake Deft his bill of Costs. 

flfor a Coppie of the Replevy f.O:0:G 

fTor a Coppie of the letter of Attourny £. . . 0(1'^) 

H'or Coppies of testimonies fro my Howard £.0:2:0 

ffor two mens attendance Viz : myselfe & Ri : Wharton 

3 dayes ". £ : : 4 : G 

£ : : 7 : 
filing papers 0:1:2 

£. 0:8:2 
Allowed. I. A. C 

p niee John Blake 
This is a true Coppie as Attests. Isaac Addington Cler 

Bill of Costs in the Court of Assistants." 

John Blacke pit Upon appeale from ye 

Ml" Oxonbridge &c Deft Commissioners Court 

^" Copy attested as above. Sufi". Early Court Files, No. 1225, Paper 
No. 2. 

" Endorsed " County Courts judgmt & bond for Appeale." 

" Copy attested as above. Ibid., Paper No. 12. 

" Apparently the account is corrected at this point in a different ink. 

" Draft in handwriting of Richard Wharton. Endorsement. " Allowed 
E. R. S," in handwriting of Edward Rawson. Suff. Early Court Files, 
No. 123G. 



Chap. IX] APPENDIX 2 437 

Bill of Costs 

ffor Copyei? taken out from mr howard £ 00 : 08 : 08 

ffor my owiie Aturneys & Avittnesscs attendance & 

suinons at Comissionrs Court £ 00 : 04 : OGC) 

flfor Entring my appeale £ 00 : 10 : 00 

ffor my owne & Aturneys attendance 9 dayes at this 

Court (16 7ber TS.)'"^ £00:15:09(") 

ffor filling papers: 

Richard Wharton Atturney to Jn Blake 
Idem agt. Idem vpon appeale from ye County Court 
ffor my owne & Atturney attendance 3 dayes at ye 

County Court f 00 : 04 : OG (=">) 

ffor two wittnesses 3 dayes £ 00 : 09 : 00 

ffor my owne & Atturneys attendance [9] dayes at this 

Court £ 00 : 15 : 06(2>) 

ffor answer to ye Reasons of appeale £ 00 : : 00(^^) 

ffor filing ye papers 

Allowed E. R. S. Richd Wharton Attourney 

(16 Sept 1673)" To John Blake ='J 

" Figures altered; in the margin written " 18d abated." 

" Figures altered; first reading was apparently £01 : 07 : 06. The bill 
was summed up at this point, but the sum total was cancelled so as to be 
illegible. 

^° Figures altered; in the margin " 4s 6 abated." 

" Figures altered; first reading was apparently £01 : 07 : 06. 

" Cancelled in the original; first reading was 1 sh. The sum total, 
which followed this item, was cancelled so as to be illegible. 

'^ Written in the margin. 

" Endorsed: "account of Rich. Wharton. Mr Whartons Costs. Sept 
73." 



438 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. IX 



APPENDIX 3 

[OXENBRIDGE ET AL. VS. SmITH 

Extracts from the Records of the County Court ^ 

At a County Court held at Boston April 29th 1673 . . . Mr John 
Oxenbridge mF James Allen & mF Anthony Stoddard Executor^ to 
the last will of Richard Bellingham EsqF plaintiffes cont'^ Leif- 
tenant John Smith of Winnisimet Defends in an action of the 
case for not paying unto them the SuiTie of one hundred pound's 
for Kent due for the tl'arme & fferry at Winnisimet for the two 
yeares last past according to an agreement made the thirtieth of 
January . 1664./. & all due damages according to Attachment 
Dat. Aprill : IH^ 1673. After the Attachment & Evidences in the 
case produced were read comity to the Jury & reraaine on file with 
the Record's of this Court The Jur\' brought in theire Verdict 
& founde for the plaintiff's one hundred pound's & cost's of Court. 
The Defend^ appealed from the Judgment of this Court to the 
next Court of Assistant's and gaue bond to prosecute: The saide 
leif^ John Smith as principle in two hundred pound's mF Richard 
AVharton & mF John Osborne as Sureties in one hundred pound's 
apeice acknowledged themselves respectively bound to the Treas- 
uro? of the County of Suffolke & parties concerned on condicon 
that the saide John Smith should prosecute his appeale from the 
judgment of this Court at the next Court of Assistant's to Effect. 
. . . MF John Oxenbridge m"" James Allen & mF Anthony Stod- 
dard ExecutoFs to the late Richard Bellingham EsqF his will, hav- 
ing an action depending in Court against Leif* John Smith of 
Winnisimett : The Dep^ GovF declared in open Court his dissent 
from mF Whartons being an Attourny to the saide Smith (who 
did in open Court declare that mF Wharton was the cause of the 
action ) the person viz^ mF Wharton being one under bonds of good 
behaviour. 

' Pages 119, 126. The judges present were John Leverett, Deputy 
Governor; Edw. Ting and Wm. Stoughton, Assistants. For Lieutenant 
John Smith, see supra, pp. 29G. 319. 



Chap. IX] APPENDIX 3 439 

Smith vs. Oxenbridge et al. 
Copy of Court Record ^ 

At a Court of Assistants held at Boston 2*^ September, 1673. 

L* John Smith PI* against M^ John Oxenbridge, M^ James 
Allen and M^" Anthony Stoddard Executors to the Last Will of 
Richard Bellingham Esq? In an i\.ction of Appeal from the 
Judgment of the last County Court in Boston. After the Attach- 
ment Courts Judgment Reasons of Appeal & Evidences in the 
Case produced were Read Committed to the Jury & remain on 
file with the Records of this Court The Jury brought in their 
verdict that is a Special Verdict. If he that is an Executor to 
a part of an Estate disposed of by Will be a legal Executor to the 
whole of that Estate tho' never disposed of by Will then the Jury 
find for the Defendants Confirmation of the former Judgment & 
Cost of Courts, otherwise for the pl*^ Revertion of the former 
Judgment & Cost of Courts. The Magistrates find for the Defend*^' 
Confirmation of the former Judgment & Costs of Courts fifty 
seven shillings. 

A true Copy as Appears of Record 
Exam<5 f Elisha Cooke , Cler : ^ 

OxejStbhidge et al. Complaint 
Extract from Court Record * 

At a County Court held at Boston Aprill : 28th 1574 ^ _ _ 
M? John Oxenbridge mV James Allen & m? Anthony Stoddard 
Executors to the last will & Testament of Richard Bellingham 
Esqr Late Gov^ deceased, making theire complaint to this Court 
that m?" Richard Wharton had unjustly molested & disquieted 
William Eustas tenant to the s? Executor^ in his possession of 
one of the Farmes Late the s^ Governor^ lying at Winnisiinet for- 
merly occupied by Nicholas Rice ^ as tenant to the s? Govern? & 
turned the s? Eustas his goods out of do res without colour of Law 
or Lawfull Authority the saide Eustas affirming upon Oath in 

» Attested copy. Suff. Early Court Files, No. 1220. 

' Endorsed. " Judgment of the Court of Assistants 2d Septp 1G73. 
Smith V. Oxenbridge." 

* MSS. Records of Suff. Co. Court, 1670-1681, p. 228. Judges present: 
CJovernor John Leverett, Simon Cradstreet, Edw. Tyng, Wm. Stoughton, 
Major Tho. Clarke. 

° Tenant on a farm at Winnisimmet. Supra, p. 427; infra, pp. 451-458. 



440 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. IX 

Court that m? Wharton had dispossessed him & turned out his 
goods which the s? Wharton also Own^ The Court Orders that 
warrant issue out forthwith to the Marshall of Suffolke to deliver 
to the s^ Eustas quiet & peaceable possession of the saide Fanne 
house & Land thereunto belonging.] 



Chap. X] BEFORE THE GENERAL COURT 441 



CHAPTEK X 

GOVERNOR BELLINGHAm's WILL BEFORE THE GENERAL COURT 

At the General Court of May 27, 1674: 

" M"" Eichard Wharton hauing presented a petition to this 
Court/ relating to the late GoQno'' Bellinghams will, the Court 
appointed a hearing of the case on 29^^^ instant, the partjes con- 
cerned appearing; the petic^'n & will was read. M'^' John Oxen- 
bridge, M"" James Allin, & M^" Anthony Stoddard, & M'" Humphry 
Dauy,^ the trustees executor's, objected against the legallity of the 
letter of atturney. The Court, on consideration of what hath bin 
alleadged pro et con, by their voat declared that the letter of 
atturney produced was not legally prooved,^ & so no procedure." * 

June 3, 1674, Richard Wharton with others having fallen 
under the displeasure of the Court for reasons not disclosed,^ 

* This petition does not appear, but its nature may be inferred from 
the action of the Court thereon in October. 

^ [See infra, p. 458.] 

" [See infra, pp. 461-463, the power of attorney.] 

* Mass. Col. Rec, v. 6. 

' [October 24, 1673, Richard Wharton, Joseph Dudson, and others, 
petitioned for letters of reprisal against the Dutch. The magistrates 
refused. England and Holland were at war, but Boston wished peace with 
the Dutch who had regained New York. Joseph Dudson obtained through 
John Anderson of Salem a commission from the Governor of the Leeward 
Islands, and seized the Dutch ship Expectation at Nantucket. Captain 
Dudson's prize needed repairs, and he petitioned to bring her in, with 
a permit to carry her away to his commission port for adjudication. 
November 11, 1673, the Assistants gave this permission, reserving the ques- 
tion of jurisdiction. Complaints were entered; Dudson, Wharton, etc., 
made a protest which offended the magistrates. Its character may be in- 
ferred from the following disclaimer: " Wee nor none of us had any inten- 
tion to reflect uppon his Maiesties Authority here established. And that the 
said protest neither is nor ought to bee interpreted as Confronting the 
Goverment and lawes of this colonie, and in pticular the Jnfringmt of the 
Jurisdiction of the Court of Admiralty here established." (Mass. Archives, 
Ixi. 11-55.) A second paper signed by them, and owned in court June 3, 
1674, led to their censure. {Ibid., 52.) Later English ships were cap- 
tured. When Commissioners were sent from Boston to New York to pro- 
test, the Dutch answered that aggressions did not begin with them, but 



442 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. X 

it was ordered that he should " be solemnly admonisht, and be 
disabled for pleading any cause but his oune, except that of 
M"" Samuell Bellingham, if legally impowred there\Tito, and 
that he also pay the suihe of thirty pounds in money towards 
the great expences occasioned thereby to this Court." ^ 

At the second session of the General Court, October 7, 1674: 

" In ans'" to the peticon of M'' Eichard Wharton, atturncy to 
Samuell Bellingham, Esc^, the Court judgeth it meet to grant a 
hearing of the ease mentioned in his petitions, and that all partjes 
concerned be smTioned to attend the same next after the colledg 
busines now on foote is heard. SmTions issued out accordingly. 
The sajd Eichard Wharton at the time appeared; so also did M"^ 
Jn'' Oxcnbridge, M'' James Alljn, M'" Anthony Stoddard, & M"" 
Humphry Davy, execcuto""^ & trustees of & to the late will of 
Eichard Bellingham, late Es(^ & Gouerner of this colony. The 
Court, hauing considered the matter relating to the will of the last 
GoQner, Eichard Bellingham, Esq, and finding by the testimonys 
of considerable persons (vnto whom the GoQner declared his 
minde) at the tjme of making his will, that he intended to haue 
made a codicill or additions to his will, had not Gods hand dis- 
inabled him by weakenes of body; also, the Court being informed 
that there are some parts of the estate of the late GoQner not dis- 
posed of by will, & some other matters of aequity to be considered 
in that matter w*^^ respect to M"" Samuell Bellingham his onoly son 
& child lining, & to his relict, vpon consideration of the whole 
matter, this Court doe refferr it to the County Court of Suffolke 
to consider the case, & draw vp something for the full setlement 
of that estate, according to right & aequity, & for the honour of 
the deceased, and for such a suiteable releife vnto his son and 
widdow, according as the law of God & this country doeth provide ; 
and what the sajd County Court shall doe in the premisses, they 
are to present it vnto the next Court of Election for their consider- 
ation; moreouer, it is refferred to the sajd County Co,urt to vse 
their best endeavour that the execcuto'"s & trustees of the late 
GoQner doe deliuer vnto M^ Samuell Bellinghams atturne}^ 

with the capture of the ship at Nantucket, and difficulties on Long Island. 
This afTair was calculated to prejudice the authorities against Richard 
Wharton. See MSS. Records of Suff. County Court, 1671-1680, p. 407, 
October, 1676, for two cases in which Wharton was nonsuited because he 
could plead no cause save his own and that of Samuel Bellingham.] 

" Mass. Col. Rec, v. 13. [In the margin is the record, — "They all 
submitted to ye sentence except Mr Wharton, J.A." See also ibid., 153, 
397, 426; Suff. Early Court Files, No. 1353; Mass. Archives, iii. 352.] 



Chap. X] BEFORE THE GENERAL COURT 443 

Iiichard Wharton, one hundred pounds in mony, to be trans- 
mitted vnto M'" Bellingham as soone as may be, for his support & 
necessary releife." ^ 

The records of the County Court under the foregoing order 
are imperfect. But during the pendency of the Will before 
the General Court the rights of the parties to the Governor's 
estate were litigated in the Court of Assistants.^ 

At the General Court of May 12, 1675 : 

"In ans'" to the peticon of M""^ Penellope Bellingham, humbly 
desiring the favour of this Court to grant hir liberty to w^^drawe 
her peticDn, the Court judgeth it meete to grant hir request, and 
accordingly it was withdrawn." ^ 

" In ans'" to the peticon of Eichard Wharton, in relation to his 
complaints in behalfe of Samuel Bellingham, Es^, his petic-on, 
w^*^ some other papers presented w*^^ it, being lajd aside, and the 
Court ready to break vp, that they cannot now stay to issue it, 
which they are desirous of, and doe therefore order, that the secre- 
tary give notice to the trustees of the late GoQno'' Bellinghams 
will, as also to M"* Eichard Wharton, that the case is to be heard 
& determined the next sessions, the second day of the sd Court, 
that they giue their attendance accordingly." ^"^ 

Indian affairs were in a critical condition at this time, and 
therefore the following order of the Court : 

At the second session of the General Court, October 13, 
1675: 

" The case depending between the ouerseers of the late honored 
GoQno^' Bellinghams will & M"" Eichard Wharton, the Court judg- 

' Mass. Col. Rec, v. 24, 25. [At tlie term of the County Court beginninj^ 
October 27, 1674, is the following (p. 281) : " Jn pursuance of an Order 
of the Generall Court respecting the will of the Late Goveurr. Riehci. 
Bellingham Esqr. The Court Orders the Clarke to suilions the Execrs. of 
sd. will & mi;; Richd. Wharton to attend on thursday. 12. Novembr. in- 
stant, after Lecture with reference to the sd. Order." There is no further 
reference to the subject in the Court record. From Richard Wharton's ac- 
count in February, 1681/2, it is probable that the £100 was paid. Also after 
this the rents of the Ferry farm were paid to Wharton ; they were not ap- 
l)arently before this. Infra, p. 464. Governor Bellingham's will gave his 
son a life lease of the Ferry farm. £100 was two years" rent.] 

* [This note has been placed as an appendix to this chapter.] 

• Mass. Col. Rec, v. 35. This petition does not appear. 
'» Ibid., 36. 



444 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. X 

eth it meete the hearing thereof be waved this sessions, & referred 
to the next Court of Election, (the publicke affayres of the country- 
being at present more necessary to be attended,) and the same to 
be heard the 3^ day of the second weeke of the sajd sessions, & 
the partjes convened to haue legall warning for their appearance 
accordingly." ^^ 

[Letter from the King to the Governor and Council 
of Massachusetts ^- 

Charles R. 

Trusty and Welbeloved Wee greet you well, Whereas Our Loving 
Subject Samuel Bellingham hath presented — Us a Petition Set- 
ting forth That Eichard Bellingham his Father late Governour 
of the Massachusetts Colony in New England died about two year's 
since possessed of a considerable reall and personal Estate, and 
notwithstanding his several Declaracons before credible Witnesses 
of his Intencon to give his whole Estate to his said Son (being his 
onely Son and Heire) some short time before his death, yet by 
the contrivance of some persons about him, takeing advantage of 
the Petitioners absence (who was then in Germany by his fathers 
consent to emprove himself e in the Study of Physick) and of his 

" Mass. Col. Rec, v. 56, 

" [Copy attested by the Secretary of the Colony. Suff. Early Court 
Files, No. 6949. Judge Chamberlain knew of this document, but was un- 
able to find it; the court files have been recently put in order. December 
18, 1675, Governor Leverett wrote to Sir Joseph Williamson: "Received in 
November the King's commands of Aug. last referring to Mr. Belling- 
ham's business, which was under consideration before and had been heard 
but deferred until May court by reason of the present troubles." (Calendar 
of Eng. State Papers, Colonial Series, ix., — Amer. & West Indies, 1675- 
1676, No. 745.) 

" At a County Court held at Boston by adjournment of the General 
Court. Novembr. 23o. 1675 . .*. Richd. Wharton — Attourny to Samll. 
Bellingham the onely Sonn & heire of Richd. Bellingham Esqr. deed, 
plaint: agt. Jeremiah Belcher Defendt. according to attachmt. dat: 
Octobr. 18o. 1675. The plaint, was non Suted upon non appearance." 
(MSS. Records of Sufi". Co. Court, 349.) Presumably before October 18, 
1675, Wharton received news that the application to the King had been 
successful, and instituted this suit; but when the Court met, dropped it, 
awaiting the action of the General Court, the following May. To have 
disturbed Jeremiah Belcher as Rice was disturbed would have been a 
severe hardship, as Belcher had paid a fine to reduce the rent of his 
farm, and held a lease of it for the lives of his wife and his stepson, 
John Center (still a minor). See infra, p. 464, a reference to this letter 
from the King in the account rendered by Richard Wharton, February, 
1681/2.] 



CiiAP. X.] BEFORE THE GENERAL COURT 445 

said father not being Compos mentis, with other indirect practises 
a Will was signed by his said father not onely contrary to his fore- 
said Declaration but almost to his utter ruine ; Informing Us also 
That whereas Considering the agedness of his said father and his 
own absence in his Travells he had by Letter of Attourney Author- 
ized and appointed Eichard Wharton a Merchant Eesident in Bos- 
ton at the time of his said Fathers Decease to Enter in his Name 
upon his said fathers Estate, as not Imagening that it could be 
so disposed from him, and the rather because his said Father Sold 
and Engaged several Lands in this Our Kingdom which were 
entayled upon the Pet-/^ for the better Settling of him in his 
possession there; That although his said Attourney had entred 
several caveats against the Probate of the said Will, yet contrary 
to Law through the Combination and Interest of the persons 
named Executors and Trustees a Probacon of the said will hath 
been Obtained; But forasmuch as the same hath not yet passed 
the General Assembly he conceives he is not to be concluded by it; 
being contrary to the Established Laws of that our Colony. 

And hath therefore humbly besought Us to Interpose with you 
that he may be Eeheard. 

Wee haveing taken the circumstances of his case into Our Con- 
sideracon, and finding his Eequest so reasonable. That Wee ques- 
tion not but you will comply with the same, have thought fit 
accordingly to Eecommend it unto you in very especial and 
Efi^ectual manner that you allow the said Samuel Bellingham a 
Speedy Eehcaring of his cause according to the Laws of that Our 
Colony; And although Wee promise Our Selfe from your pru- 
dence and Integrity that you will proceed therein with that in- 
dift'erence that becomes the dispensing of Justice; Yet at the 
instance of Our said Subject Wee could not Eefuse to add Our 
recommendation likewise — that you will not suffer the Interest 
or Credit of any persons who may be party's in the Case either to 
Obstruct a Eehearing or to prevayle above the Merits of the Cause; 
but that the Same may be Determined Impartially and without 
favour or Affection to either Side. And of your proceedings herein 
our Pleasure is that an Account be returned unto Us under the 
Scale of your Judicature by the hands of Our Secretary of State. 

And whereas Wee are Informed that some Injuries have been 
heretofore Offered to the Attourney of the said Samuel Belli ng- 

" [Richard Bellinfifham was the eldest son and heir of William Belling- 
ham Esq., Lord of the Manor of Bromhyo Woode, Lincolnshire. He was 
recorder of Boston, Enjifland, from 102.5 until his resignation, November 8, 
16.3.-}. See N. E. Hist, and Gen. Reg., xxxvi. ,381-380 for his line of 
descent, and his sale of lands in England.] 



446 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. X 

ham in acting for him, Wee do further Recommend it unto you 
that you take care that the said Attourney or who else the said 
Samuel Bellingham shall employ, be protected from all Attempts 
or injurious practices for the future in the prosecuting of the 
said cause. And so Wee bid you farewell. Given at Our Court 
at Windsor the last day of August 1675. In the Seven and Twen- 
tieth year of Our Eeign. — 

By his Matys. Command 
H Coventry — 

Superscribed 
To Our Trusty and Welbeloved 
the Governour and Councell 
of the Massachusetts Colony 
in New-England now and for 
the time being. — 

Sealed with the Privy Seal./. 

A true Copy of the Original 
Letter on file in the Sec- 
Upper Office in the retary's Office in Boston, 
Court Chamber./. with other Letters from his 

Majesty 

examin*^. therew^'^. ^ 
Is^. Addington Secry] 

[At the General Court of May 3, 1676, the date in the 
margin of record being] May 20, 1676: 

" The case of D^" Bellingham, referring to his fathers will, hau- 
ing been often ordered an hearing, but, through other vrgent pub- 
lick occasions, hitherto delayed, and M^ Wharton, his agent, being 
shortly to goe for England, it is ordered, that all partjes concerned 
be warned to attend to morrow by eight of the clock in y*^ morning, 
and that then this Court will giue them an hearing to an issue." ^* 

" Att a speciall Generall Court, called and assembled together 
by Order of the Council," August 9, 1676 : ^^ 

" It is ordered, that the case of M"" Samuel Bellingham, depend- 
ing, be heard at the next meeting of this Court on the eighth day 

" Mass. Col. Rec, v. 98. 

" [Thfs Court was called to consider the King's letter regarding the 
complaints of Gorges and Mason. Dated March 10, 1675/6, it had been 
brought over in the summer of 1676 by Edward Randolph. The Colony 
was ordered to send over agents within six months to make answer. 
Hutchinson, Hist, of Mass. (ed. 1795), i. 281.] 



Chap. X] BEFORE THE GENERAL COURT 447 

of September next, at nine of the clock in the morning, and that 
all persons concerned haue notice by the secretary accordingly.^ ° 

[" The case of D"^ Samuel Bellingham, referring to his fathers 
will, hauing bin often ordered on hearing, but, through other 
vrgent publicke occasions, hitherto delayed, and M^' Wharton, his 
agent, being shortly to goe for England, it is ordered, that all 
partjes concerned be warned to attend tomorrow by eight of the 
clocke in the morning, and that then this Court will giue them an 
hearing to an issue.] 

" M'" Eichard Wharton, atturney, in behalfe of M"* Samuel Bel- 
lingham, p'tiff, against the executors of his honno'"d ffather, 
Eichard Bellingham, EstJ, deceased, as also the sajd execcutors 
appearing before the Generall Court, the sajd plantiff being tailed 
to declare his complaint, sajd that he could not well proceed, hj 
reason of sundry of his wittnesses were absent; and at his request 
both 'partjes are dismissed." ^^ 

[" Att the Sessions of the Generall Court, specially called, sitting 
in Boston,"] September 6, 1676.^® " This Court, hauing fully heard 
and diiely considered the case refferring to the instrument called 
the will of Eichard Bellingham, Es(^, late GoQno'^", deceased, to- 
gether with the seuerall pleas and allegations of M"* Eichard 
AVharton. atturney to M'' Samuel Bellingham, plaintiffe, against 
the legallity of the sajd will, and of M"" James Allin & M^' Anthony 
Stoddard, appointed ffeoffees in trust, and executor's to the sajd 
will, deffendants, doe give their judgment in the case, that is to 
say, that the sajd will is illegall, & so null and voyd in law, and 
orders the chardg of hearing this case to be tenn pounds, as costs, 
to be payd out of the estate of the deceased." ^^ 

Richard Wharton's Petition 

" To the Hono^ie the General Court 
The humble Petition of Eichard Wharton Attomy to M"" Samuel 
Bellingham/. Sheweth, That s*^ M^" Bellingham having now 

" Mass. Col. Rec, v. 101. 

" Ihid., 101, 102. 

" [At this Court William Stoughton and Peter Bulkley, Speaker of 
the House of Delegates, were chosen agents to carry the reply to the 
King's letter {Supra, note 15.) "The mission was important, perplex- 
ing, and delicate. Not only were the complaints of Mason and Gorges to 
be met, but likewise the representations of the ' odious and rapacious ' 
Edward Randolph respecting the opposition to the navigation laws, be- 
sides the complaints in relation to the persecution of the Quakers." 
Sibley, Harvard Graduates, i. 196, 197.] 

" Mass. Col. Rec, v. 105. 



44:8 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. X 

for near four years been kept from his estate & so exposed to great 
Sutterings & unreasonable Charge in prosecution of his Right 
against the pretended Executors to his ffathers will the Jllegalit}^ 
of which Jnstrument God hath given you Wisdome to discerne & 
detcrmin and so far honoured 3'ou as his Jnstruments in Relieving 
the oppressed. That the full and final determination of this Case 
being by his Majesty Recommended -" to this Honob'^ Court and 
the bleeding Condition of the Estate craving Speedy Administra- 
tion thereupon. 

Your Petitioner in s*^ IM*" Bellinghams behalf humbly prays that 
Letters of Administration may be granted him by this honour<I 
Court : And that a Committee of Uninterested & Expert persons 
may be Appointed to Receive & Examine the pretended Executors 
Accounts and make Report of the same to this hon^^ Court at their 
next Session, that so all matters of future Controversie may Cease 
and his Majestys Recommendation may be fully Complyed with, 
and your Petitioner obliged to make Report of your Justice. 

And as in duty bound to pray. 
Richard Wharton.^^ 
Jn Answer to the Petition the Deputies Judge Meet that Adminis- 
tration to the Estate of Richard Bellingham Esqr deced be granted 
unto M'" Sam" Bellingham Son to the s^ deced & in his absence 
to his Lawfull Attorney by the Secretary and that there be a Com- 
mittee Appointed to Examine the Accounts of the feoffees and 
Executors so Called to the pretended Will of s^ Richard Belling- 
ham Esqr who are to make Report of what they shall do in pur- 
suance hereof to the Session of the General Court in October next 

^" Infra, p. 465, note (5 [also supra, p. 444.] 

"^ The people of Winnisimmet doubtless entertained no good wishes 
towards Samuel Bellingham's attorney, Richard Wharton. He was the 
man who upset the Governor's will which gave them a fine estate of 
four large farms, inventoried at £1920; and, moreover, he fell under the 
displeasure of the Great and General Court for some alleged offence. 
[Supi'a, note 5.] But it seems that he was unjustly dealt with, for on 
June 1, 1G77, the Court, " In answer to the petieon of Mr Richard 
Wharton, humbly desiring that the sentane of this Court in May, 
1674, laying a restreint vpon him from pleading any cause but his owne 
& Mr Bellinghams, thro a misrepresentation of matters then chardged on 
him, that he maybe released therefrom, &c, the Court judgeth it meet 
to grant his request therein." (Mass. Col. Rec, v. 153.) And six years 
later Wharton representing that he had suffered greatly in conse(iuence 
of the first judgment against him, the Court, March 30, 1683, gave him a 
thousand acres of land in Maine, as a compensation. {Ibid., 397.) For 
more about Richard Wharton and his family, see 6 Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., 
V. 9 note, 25, 56, 86, 93, 187, 228, 377. He died in London, May 14, 1689; 
but see " Gleaner," in Boston Rec. Com. Rep., v. [8upra, p. 400.] 



Chap. X ] BEFORE THE GENERAL COURT 449 

& do Nominate and appoint Capt Laurence Hammond & Cap* 
John Wayt to be of said Committee in Conjnction with such as 
our honoured Magistrates shall appoint desiring their Concur- 
rence herein W™ Torrey Cleric 

13 September 1676. Consented to by the Magistrates who also 
appoint j\F Edward Tyng to join with mentioned Gent° as 
the Committee. 

Edward Eawson Secrety ^^ 

At the second session of the General Court, October 11, 
1676: 

*' "Wliereas this Court hath declared that the will of the late 
GoSn^, Rich^ Bellingham, Esc^, was vo3'd in law, & the law pro- 
uiding that due care be taken for the widdow or relict of the 
deceased, it is therefore ordered, that this matter be issued & deter- 
mined by this Court, and that the money resting due from the 
late trustees remajne in their hands vntill the sajd setlement be 
made." " 

At the General Court, June 1, 1677: 

" In answer to the motion of M*"^ Penelope Bellingham,^* the 
relict widdow of the late hono'"able GoQnour, Eichard Bellingham, 
Es^, deceased, this Court doth order, that she shall haue his 

^ Chamberlain MSS., i. 39. [Endorsed : " A true Copy Examd with 
the Original on file p Jsaac Addington 8ecly. A true Copy Examd p Elisha 
Cooke Clr." The vote of the Court is recorded in] Mass, Col. Rec, v. 105, 
106. 

'* Mass. Col. Rec., v. 131. The date in the margin is October 25. 

" Penelope Bellingham, second wife of Governor Bellingham, was mar- 
ried under peculiar circumstances. Winthrop, November 9, 1641, says: — 
"The young gentlewoman [Penelope Pelham] was ready to be contracted 
to a friend of his [the governor], who lodged in his house, and by his 
consent had proceeded so far with her, when on the sudden the governour 
treated with her, and obtained her for himself. He excused it by the 
strength of his affection, and that she was not absolutely promised to the 
other gentleman. Two errors more he committed upon it. 1. That he 
would not have his contract published where he dwelt, contrary to an 
order of court. 2. That he married himself contrary to the constant 
practice of the country." (Savage, Winthrop. ii. 43.) This caused scandal, 
which the Court took notice of; but nothing followed. They had two 
sons and two daughters, all of whom died before the father. The governor 
died December 7, 1672; his Avidow May 28, 1702. Sewall says: "At 
5 p.m., Madam Bellingham dies, a vertuous Gentlewoman, antiquis Mori- 
bus, prisca fide, who has liv'd a widow just about 30 years." -Diary, ii. 50. 
He was a pall bearer at her funeral. Ibid., i. 469, 
VOL. I. — 29 



450 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. X 

dwelling house in Boston, & lands jo3-ning, & other buildings 
adjacent, as also the farme now occupied by Samuell Townsend, 
during her naturall life, as also the household stuffe left her in 
the house, together with the ballance of M'" Stoddards acco*, which 
is forty six pounds thirteen shillings, to be at her dispose, with 
two cowes she had, & 5'' lent her, & three pound odd moneys in 
stuffe for a goune, delivered by the trustees, provided allwayes that 
she shall not make any strey. or wast of wood or timber, & at her 
chardge, from time to time, & at all times, keep the houses & fences 
tenantable & in good repaire." ^^ 

Thus it appears that after many years of litigation in the 
lower courts, the General Court, on the King's recommenda- 
tion, set aside Governor Bellingham's will and committed the 
administration of his estate to his son, Samuel Bellingham, 
meantime making provision for the support of his widow. As 
the decision of the court of last resort this would seem to 
have settled the matter ; but Mr. James Allen, the principal 
trustee, was able, aggressive, and persistent, and the General 
Court, in taking original jurisdiction of the probate of wills 
which by law it had conunitted to the County Court,^^ gave 
him an opening of which, as we shall see, he availed himself 
thirty years afterwards; and thereby controversy was con- 
tinued for more than eighty years. 

^ Mass. Col. Rec, 142, 143. [Compare her agreement with the Trustees, 
supra, p. 398. According to the inventory of the Governor's estates {supra, 
p. 427), this was a liberal allowance.] 

=" [See infra, p. 528, note 4.] 



Chap. X] APPENDIX 451 



APPENDIX 

" Att a Court of Assistants held at Boston 2'^ of march 1674 [1675] 
pt Jur m'" Joseph Belknap & Richard wharton Atturney^ to 

& in behalfe of Nicholas Rice plaintiffe in an Accon of Appeale 
from the virdict of the Jury & Courts Judgment in the County 
Court at Boston in January last ag* m'" Jn<> Oxenbridge James 
Allen Anthony stoddard & Humphry Davy trustee^ & executor's 
to the last will & Testament of Richard Bellingham Esq'" de- 
ceased = After the Courts Judgment reasons of Appeale and 
evidences in the Case produced were read Comitted to the Jury 
& remajne on file w^^^ the Reccords of this Court the Jury brought 
in their verdict they found for the plantiffs A reuersion of the 
former Judgment & Costs of Courts three pounds twelve shillings 
& ten pence : " = ^ 

This record tells but little; but from the proceedings on the 
appeal it appears that the trustees sued Nicholas Rice, tenant of 
the Rice farm (Shurtleff farm), for the rent which the Governor 
by his will had given to Mrs. Bellingham for life.^ The case hav- 
ing gone against him in the County Court, he appealed to the 
Court of Assistants, where the judgment was reversed, as appears 
above. Though the reasons are full of irrelevant verbiage I print 
them as they set forth the objections to the Trustees' right of 
action, as claimed by the heir-at-law. The Reasons allude to some 

' Records of the Court of Assistants, i. 24. 

[Other papers in this case follow, yet the file is incomplete, and it does 
not appear whether by this verdict the jury intended to overrule the 
decisions of September, 1673, or whether this case was differentiated in 
some particulars from the other rentals at Winnisimmet. The reasons 
of appeal point out technical flaws in the proceedings; the following re- 
ceipt suggests that the flaw pointed out by Wharton in the evidence of 
John Deacon may have been more than technical : " Reseuied of Nicho- 
las Rice for the years 1667 1668, 1669 1670 for his Rent each yeare ten 
pounds for halfe the farm I say reseiued 26. 11: 1670 by mee Ri. Belling- 
ham." (Mass. Archives, C. 128; also supra, p. 439. At the July term 
of the County Court, in 1674, the Trustees sued Edmund Chamberlain 
of Maiden for two years' rent of a parcel of marshland. They recovered, 
and no appeal was taken. (SufT. Co. Court Records, 244.) Presumably 
this was a part of the Island End Marsh.] 

* See, supra, p. 398, the agreement between the Trustees and Mrs. 
Bellingham.] 



452 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. X 

objections to Samuel Bollingham's power of attorney to Eichard 
Wharton, and therefore, as well as for one or two facts M-hich the 
power contains, I print that also.^ 

[Lease from Wharton to Rice 

This Indenture made the first day of January, 1672, between 
Richard Wharton, of Boston, Merchant Attourny to Doctor Sam- 
uel Bollingham, Son & heire to Eichard BcUingham, EsqV on the 
one part & Nicholas Rice of Winissimet husbandman, on the other 
part Witnesseth, that the saide Richard Wharton, as an Attourny 
aforesaide hath & doth, by these presents grant set & to Farme 
Lett unto the saide Nicholas Rice all that Farme & all those 
uplands Meadow & pasture now in his possession, & occupation, 
with all houses outhouses & Edifices upon the same late belonging 
to & the Estate of the saide Eichard Bellingham, Esq? deceased 
To have & to hold the premisses with all priviledges & appurte- 
nances to the same now belonging to him the saide Nicholas Eice 
for [and] during the full terme & time of one whole yeare to com- 
mence from the five & twentieth of March next ensuing to him the 
s*? Nicholas Eice his heires adrnT^ & assigne, and that the saide 
Nicholas Eice doth for himselfe admVs & assignes Covenant & 
engage to pay to the s^ Eichard Wharton or the Attourny of the 
s*? Samuel Bellingham for the time being the Sume of twenty 
pounds in good sound & Merchantable provisions at price curr^ 
at the Town of Boston, within the aforesaide time to the accepta- 
tion of the saide Wliarton, or Attourny of s*? Bellingham, and that 
hee the s^ Eice his admV^ or assignes shall not cominit or sulfer any 
wast, and at the Expiration, of the s^ term, render and deliver 
quiet possession of the sO premisses to the saide Bellingham his 
Attourny or assignes. In Witness whereof the party's hereunto 
haue interchangably Set theire hands & Scales this first of Janu- 
ary, 1G73 

Witnesse Ri : Wharton . Attourny 

John Blake to m? Sam'.' Bellingham 

Thomas Bendish & a Seale. 

Peter Lorphelin 

Own*? in Court, Janur : 29, 1674. by 
mr Wharton attests. Is^ Addington Cler. 

' [The papers inchuled in brackets have been discovered since Judge 
Chamberlain wrote, in Suff. Early Court Files, No. 135:?, Papers Xos. 2 
and 3. They are endorsed: "Ri: Wliartons Leas to Rice & Rices Letter 
ot Attourney."] 



Chap. X] APPENDIX 453 

This is a true Coppie of the Originall on file 
as Attests . Is? Addington Cler. 

Power of Attorney from Nicholas Rice 

Know all men by these presents that I Nicholas Rice of Eedding 
sometimes Tenn^ to Eichard Bellingham, EsqV late Governor & 
since to Doctor Sam'.' Bellingham, his onely Sonn, as by a lease 
(bearing date the first of January, 1672) of a Farme at Winis- 
simct hired of Eich? Wharton, Attourny to Doctor Sam'.' Belling- 
ham may appeare & for as much as the s*;' Rich^ Wharton, as 
Attourny to the s^ Doctor Bellingham, did upon the day aforesaide 
by a Writing under his hand & Scale warne advise & require mee 
the s*? Nicholas Rice & the rest of the Tennt^ at WinnisiiTiet to 
detaine & keepe in our hands all the rents issues & profits of the 
respective Farmes in our possession, obligeing to warrant & secure 
us for soe doing as by the s*.' Writing may more fully appeare: 
And Whereas mF John Oxenbridge dec^ mT James Allen, m? Stod- 
dard & mf' Davy have comenced an action, at the County Court of 
Boston, ag*^ mee for the rent of s^ Farme hired of s*? Wharton, as 
afores*^ & the s^ Wharton, having given his Obligation, to the Con- 
stable of Redding (by w'^ I was Attached in the Action, afores^) 
for my appearance to answer the same Now for the Reasons afore- 
saide I doe hereby request Authorize & impower my Loving bro: 
Joseph Belknap of Boston Glover & the s*? Richard Wharton or 
either of them to appeare answer & make plea to the s^ Action, in 
my behalfe as being Tenn^ to & Sued for the rent of a Farme I 
possessed as afores^ in the right of Doctor Sam!' Bellingham ; also 
in all that refers to the premisses to bee my Attourny's & to doe all 
that is necessary for my defence in the afores^ case or any other 
action, that may bee brought ag? mee upon the grounds or reasons 
afores^ And I doe further request the s^ Wharton, according to his 
afore recited Obligac^n, in case of Judgement ag^ mee to Satisfy & 
discharge the same, or else w^"^ the s^ Joseph Belknap if they see 
cause to appeale from the same & to do whatever else may to 
them, seeme most expedient in the premisses & I doe hereby 
promiss to ratify & confirme the same. Witness my hand this, 27, 
of January Ann? Domini. 1GT4. 

Nicholas n Rice & a Scale, 
his mark 
Signed Sealed & Delivered 
in presence of 

Joseph Dudley 

Tlio : Woodbridsre. 



454 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. X 

Nicholas Eice acknowledged this Writing to bee his act & Deed 
this 28^*^ of January, 1674 before mee Simon Bradstreet Assis* 

This is a true Coppie of the Originall on file 
as Attests. Is? Addington Cler. 

County Court's Judgment * 

At a County Court held at Boston — January 26*^- 1674 
[1675] — 

Mr John Oxenbridge, mr James Allen, mr Anthony Stoddard 
& mr Humphry Davie Trustees & Executors to the last Will and 
Testament of Richard Bellingham deceased plaint? ag\ Nicho- 
las Eice of Eeding Defend* in an action of debt for non paiment 
of fforty pounds for two yeares Eent for a ifarme at Winnisimet 
payable in March : 1673 . 1674 . w*^. all due damages according 
to Attachm* Dat. Decembr l^ 1674. 

The Attachmt & Evidences in the case produced being read 
coinitted to the Jury & remaine on file with the Eecords of this 
Court, The Jury brought in theire Verdict, they founde for the 
plaint? ff'orty pounds of w?^ ffive pounds to bee paide in Silver 
& costs of Court, allovv^ by the Court, thirty six Shillings & four 
pence; Joseph Belknap & m? Eichard Wharton as Attourny's &^ 
in behalfe of the Defend* appealed from this Judgem* unto the 
next Court of Assistants & themselves as principalis in Eighty 
pounds & ml' Jn° Saffin & Tho : More as Sureties in . 40*' apeice, 
acknowledged themselves respectiuely bound to the TreasuroV of 
the County of Suffolke & party's concerned on condicon that the 
s^ Joseph Belknap & Eichard Wharton, as Attourny's afores*? 
should prosecute theire appeale from the Judgement' of this Court 
at the next Court of Assistants to Efi'ect.] 

Reasons of Appeal to the Court of Assistants^ 

Joseph Belknap & Eichd Wharton Attourneys to, & for And in 
behalfe of Nicholas Eice Their Eeasons of Appeale from y? 
Judgm* of yf County Court held att Boston January 26 : 1674 : 
In an action Comenced ag* y? s^ Eice by MF J? Oxenbridge 
Mr James Allen Mr Anthony Stodder & M? Humphrey Davy 
l)rtended Trustees & ExF^ To y? last will of Eichd Bellingham 
EsqF Deed 

* Records of SufT. Co. Court. IfiTl-lOSO, p. 293. 

" Chamberlain MSS., i. 35. (Draft presumably by Richard Wharton; 
endorsement by Isaac Addington j autograph signatures.] 



Chap. X] APPENDIX 455 

1* Because Mr Stodder one of y? y? plt^ appearing wt'^out a 
power to Sue & y^ Appell*^ takeing exeption, & Demanding a Non- 
suite, according to Law, & practice In other Cases, y? Court were 
pleased to deny y? plt^ plea, & respit y* accbn, & Call another, till 
MF Stodder went to looke for a power as he pFtended ; & haveing 
Brought w*f he could find, & y* alsoe exepted ag*, as in suffic*^ 
yf originall Eecords were brought forth to furnish him : w^"^ in 
regard he might have had Coppyes thereof, for his money, & 
pduced no Licence To Sue fforma Pauperis, neither his case being 
of any publique importance, & in regard y? Appell*^ are con- 
strained to produce & pay for y? Coppies of those records, \v^^ he 
was accomadated wt"^ as afores^ they humbly leave it to Con- 
sideracbn whether y? Courts pceedings were heerin agreeable to 
y^ Method of Courts in other Cases; & to y* law Title StrangF^ 
& to those GenVlle Rules of Justice w?*^ our law appoints to be 
administred without Ptiallity, & delay : And if this seem not a 
suffic^ Reason of Appeal, they humbly offer their p4eas in y? form? 
Court, as Reasons for their Appeale to this. 

It Because y? y? plt^ had no legall power to Sue — . 

2^ — Because they had neither any legall interest in nor Equita- 
ble title to y*^ Rent Sued for. y* y? y? pl^^ had no legall power 
y? appelK^ thus demonstrate. 

1* — Because y? prtended Will allows not less y? three to make 
a valid act, but there was none but Ml" Stodder in Court to make 
this act valid, nor Could there possibly be three, as y? Will requires 
for M!" Oxenbridge is dead; in whose name y^ pcess Issued; & 
Law & Reason saith y* 3^? action dyes wV^ y? pson. & MF Stodder 
(Thanke him for it) brought yf originall record to tell vs yt Mr 
Russells had Renounced ; so yt himself e & y? Will maker, who also 
was absent are all y* remaine to make a valid act; And to supply 
y? want of one, Mr Davies name (but not his pson or power) is 
brought in (But to free him from yf trouble of attendance) y? 
appelP? Say y* y? prtended Will allowes no Supnumeraries. four 
are y? number ordained, & there is no roome for a fifth, nor for 
y? Choice of a successor to any of y? four, till some of y"? be dead 
or remoued, & so Judged vncapeable by y? rest; But M? Davies 
Comission is signed by all y? first four, whereby each owns him- 
selfe ; & every three ownes y? fourth Capeable of acting : therefore 
none of y^ Deed, or removed nor Judged vncapeble by yf rest. 
This ordinac'b'n of Mr Davyes also Antidates M? Russells Renun- 
ciac^'n : Therefore Mr Davy is a still borne Exf & although y? 
other three afterwards own an instrum* y* is originally Illegall, 
& dead, yet they canot thereby legitimate, or give life vnto it, & 
their oversight in Not makeing a new ordinac-on, w? there seemed 



456 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. X 

to be opportunity, instead of owning y? old Illegall one, speaks 
a great pvidence of god, or a deep designe in y'P to leave such an 
open door to dept or be driven out at.® 

But vpon yf p^'sumption yt MF Davy be looked vpon as legitimate, 
his Consent, or Coiiiission, to Mv Stodders prosecueon, in this 
action appeared not ; nor any thing like a Legall power ; But 
instead thereof M!" Stodder brought in a paper Called GenUl 
Conclusions w?^ evidences no Authority, but rather brings to 
light a Conspiracy : & this also without any Legall proofe 
And this honoVd Court, & Countrey, knowing how often a more 
Legall instrum* Viz : Mv Bollinghams Letter of Attourney, was 
rejected for want of possitive proofe.'^ It is humbly hoped y* those 
y* now in this Court hold yf Scales will weigh m?" Bellinghams, 
& Mr Stodders Case, in y? same ball^? And if m^ Bellinghams 
power for want of Cleare & certaine Testimony, were laid by as 
Illegall; It is hoped y* wt mr Stodder hath produced, haveing 
neither y? Substance nor Shadow of Authority, or Evidence, wil 
be much more Condemnd & y? Judgm* y^ hath passed therevpon 
reversed 

2? To prove yt m? Stodder & Comp?^ had neither any Legall 
interest in nor Equitable title to y? rent Sued for: The Appell*^ 
say y* J? Deacon & his wife (y? onely testimony y* was produced 
to prove y? y° pl*^ Claime) Do testify y* Eice Lived att a ffarnie 
y* was Mv Bellinghams, in y?yeare 73 : & 73 : y? first ambiguity 
in this oath we shall not as we might insist vpon but allow it as 
favourable interprtac-on in ]\lr Stodders behalfe as may be, & thence 
humbly Suggest yt although Eice lived there in those two yeares, 
it is not thereby proved, y* he either lived there two whole yeares, 
nor any Considerable P* of either yeare, for he might live there 
but two dayes, or at most but three months & y? Evidences be lit- 
erally true; & y? same Witnesses say y* by agreem* Eice was to 
pay 20 £ a yeare, but y? Depont® do not declare whether Eice & 
yf GovernoV made y* agreem* or whether M?" Allen & M? Stodder 
agreed between y'T'selvs, to make Eice pay so much. It is Essentiall 
to every agreemt y* there be two Pties at least, but there appears 
none in this ; however Eice is not s^ to be one, And although from 
yf latter pt of y^ Testimony it may pbably be inferd, y* Eice 
lived there halfe a yeare at least, yet there is so much darkness, 
& vncertainty, in y* & yf pvisoe or Condicon of paying 5 £ in 
money, y* y^ Appell*^ doubt not, but it will seem Strange to 
this, where yf form?" Jury found a foundacon for tbeir verdit. 

« [Infra, p. 458.] 

' [Infra, p. 40 1 and note 16.] 



CiiAP. X] APPENDIX 457 

2? — To demonstrate y* jf now defendt^ have no legall interest 
in, nor Equitable Title to y^ Rent Sued for. y? Appell^^ humbly 
propose it to y® Consideracbn of y? Court & Jury : That y? Rent 
in Controversy is expressly as y*^ first Donacon in y? will, given 
to mvs Bellingham : not to M? Stodder & Comp?^ & if any thing in 
yf s'J paper were y^ suposed Testators mind ; it was y* his s? Wife 
should enioy y® farme & Rent, as appears by y? words following : 
(The Ifarme she hath Dureing her life) & it further appears from 
y? fourth desire or instruccon y* y? Supposed Testator, never 
intended either Rent or ffarme to these his Trustees, Dureing his 
Widdows life : onely yt if she saw need or desired their help, & 
Councell, he desires they would affoard it her, for y*^ quiet enioym* 
of her Estate, & receiving of her Rent. But these Trustees run 
before they are sent, & without any Comission or request from 
Mi's Bellingham, or without takeing any notice of her name, or 
right Sue in their owne, for y* w?^ if y® will be of any force, 
belongs to her : & is at her pleasure recoverable by her.^ But 
if it be answered y* w* they do is in her right, & by a power or 
right (Though Concealed) Derived from her It is replyed y* y® 
Law Title Atachmt & Suin'ons Sec : 4 : page 8 : tells y'P y* in such 
case they should have Sued as Councellor^, helpers, Attourneys, 
or Assignes, to MV^ Bellingham & its humbly hoped y* from s? 
law v;^^ was pleaded at y? County Court, this Honord Court & 
Jury will see y* y? y? pl?^ ought to have been nonsuited or Judgm* 
given agt y^ And y? Appell*® pVsumeing y* they have Just grounds 
of Appeale Viz : 

1* Because of y? extraordinary way of y? Courts proceedings & 
liberty given To M? Stodder — 
2^ Because y? y? pl*^ had no Legall power to Sue — 
3 — Because they had neither any Legall interest in nor Equitable 
Title to y? thing Sued for And thus y? Appell^^ also humbly con- 
ceiving they have ffully demonstrated & made proofe of their 
Reasons : They therefore humbly Coiuend y? p^mises to y? wise 
& righteous Considerac-on & Judgm* of y? honord Court & Jury, 
Craveing a Reversion of y? formV Judgm* & Costs of Courts. = 

Joseph Belknap 

Ri : Wharton Attourneys as aforesd 

These Reasons were received.ffebr*' 25!^^ 167 

P Is?i Addington Cler^ 
These reasons prevailed and judgment was given against the 
Trustees in their suit for the rent of the Rice farm, as appears 
above. 

» [Supra, p. 398.] 



458 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. X 

[The BUI of Costs » 

In y^ Case of Joseph Belknapp & Ei : Wliarton Attoumeys To 
Nic : Rice Appellts & j^p j Oxenbridg M^ James Allen &c: 
Dei'endts 

The Appellts : Bill of Costs. 

For 2 Dayes tyme & travayle from Reding to gett Bayle, 

& returne fOO : 04 : 00 

For Rices attendance 3 dayes at ye County Court & travayle 

home £00 : 06 : 00 

For writing a Letter of Attourney £00 : 00 : 06 

For Copyes of writings put in to ye County Court & a 

Copy of his Lease ye originall being in Court .... £00 : 04 : 00 

For our attendance — 5 Dayes £00 : 10 : 00 

For 2 witnesses 5 Dayes £00 : 09 : 00 

For Copy of ye Case to Mr Addington £00 : 14 : 06 

For our Attendance 4 Dayes at this Ct £00 : 12 : 00 

For ye bond of Appeale & entering £00 : 11 : 00 

£04 : 03 : 00 
fileing 11 Euidences 01 10 

3.11: 

Allowed T. C." 3 12 10 

E R S" Ri Wharton. 

Nomination of Humplirey Davy as Trustee ^^ 

" Wee whose Names are vnderwritten beeing Executors to y- 
Last will of Eichard Bellingham esq^" oV Late honn'"? Gou? in 
Answere to the trust thereby Comitted to vs & power delegated to 
choose one or more in the Eoome of any one remoued from that 
trust, considering the Jmportance of it & not knowing the Day 
of our change Least the good intent Expressed in the will shold 
be frustrate by our Neglect heerein and that the piose Ends 
thereof may bee furthered, Wee desire & heereby Choose m^" 
Humphrey Dauie to bee the next sucksessor in the same power 
& trust vnto any one of vs whose place shall be first voide by death 
or otherwise whereby liee shall be Judged vncapable to act accord- 
ing to the Will 

In Testimony wee John Oxenbridge & a scale 

set heercto our hands James Allen & a scale 

and scales this li^^ of John Eussell & a scale 

March 167f . Anthony Stoddard & a scale 

» Suflf. Early Court Files, No. 1353, Paper No. 5. Endorsed: " Whartons 
Costs. Court Assistants. 2d March 1674." 

'" Thomas Clarke, one of the judges of the court. 
" Edward Rawson, Secretary. 
^ Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 7,^ f. 355. 



Chap. X] APPENDIX 459 

M- John Oxenbridge m'' James Allen & m"" Anthony Stoddard 
vnderstanding that Mi" Jn? Russell had renounced ^^ his Executors 
place to the Last will & testament of the Late Richard Bellingham 
Esqr deceased the three other Executors personally appearing the 
G\^^ of february 1673 did acknowledge this writeing as their act 
& Deed before John Leuerett GouF 

M"^" Humphrey Davey also Edward Tyng Assist. 

appearing the same tyme 
did accept of & consent 
to this writeinge 

Recorded (& compared) 26 . 12. ?l P. ffree Grace Bendall 
Record^] 

Samuel Bellingham's Power of Attorney to Richard Wharton'^*' 

Know all men by these presents That I Samuell Bellingham 
sonn of Richard Bellingham of Boston in Kew England Esq**- 
doe herein & hereby these presents constitute «& appoint my trusty 
& Respected ffreinde m? Richard Wharton of Boston in New- 
England Merchant my true & lawfull Attourny in my Name & 
for my use to demand Sue for obtaine & receive & to use all law- 
full wayes & meanes to receive all monyes paiments debts & dues 
whatsoever coming or oweing to mee in New-England or Barbados 
or any of those remote plantations with _ all proceeds & jnterest 
thereof And upon receipt to acquit release discharge or any other 
lawfull Act or Deed concerning the premisses to doe as if I my 
selfe were personally present hereby confirming whatsoever my 
saide Attourny shall lawfully doe or cause to bee done concerning 
the premisses in full testimony whereof I set to my hand & Seal 
this sixteenth day of the second month coih'only called Aprill in 
the yeare of o"" Lord One thousand six hundred & Seventy. 

Samuell Bellingham & a seal 
Signed Sealed & Delivered — 

in presence of Stephen Williamson 

Nathaniell Gasely Mat Nellens — 

Richard Rawlen. 

Mathew Nellens witness to this Letter of Attourny did giue 
his testimony before mee as on the other side 

Symon Broadstreete 

Endorsed as followeth 

" iiuprn, p. 307. 

" Chamberlain MSS., i. 9. Endorsed: "Doctor Bellinghams Letter of 
Attourny." 



4G0 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. X 

Mathew Nellen of London Marrin^ maketh Oath that being at 
Amsterdam in the month of Aprill One thousand six hundred & 
Seventy hee saw m? Samuell Belhngham signe seal & deliver the 
Letter of Attouruy within & tliat hee the Deponant as a witness 
thereunto did then subscribe his name as it now stands under the 
saide letter of Attourny 

Taken upon Oath y? 13^^^ of September 

1671. before mee Symon Broadstreet Assistant. 

The IT^'^ of Decemb? 1G72. Cap* Stephen Williamson came & 
made Oath that mT Samuell Bellingham Signed & Sealed the 
aboue letter of Attourny 

Before mee Elias Stileman Coinission? 
This a true Coppie as Attests ffree Grace Bendall Cler. 
This is a true Coppie of the Originall word for word as it stands 
upon Record on the 165 page of the fourth booke of Records of 
the Notary publick of the Massachusetts Colony of New-England 
& out thence drawn & examined the 539^*^ day of Aprill : 16T3 . 

Robert Howard Not pubt Colonia predict. — 
This is a true Coppie as Attests ffree Grace Bendall Cler. 
This is a true Coppie as Attests . Isaac Addington Cler 

The above is certified as a true copy from the records of the 
Notary Public of New England; but it will be observed that 
neither Samuel Bellingham, then at Amsterdam, nor either of 
the witnesses ever acknowledged it before the Notary Public. ^^ 
I suppose that this is the power which the General Court decided 
to be insufficient in 1674.^® 

" 1 am unable to say what effect was given to a notarial seal in the 
Massachusetts Courts in those days; but a common custom in the exe- 
cution of an instrument to be used in that Colony was for two or more 
of a ship's crew to witness such execution, and on their coming to Boston, 
to acknowledge the same before the proper officer. The neglect of this 
occasioned much delay and trouble in the conveyance of real estate owned 
by parties living abroad. 

" [This was the power of attorney under Avhich Richard Wharton, 
December 19, 1672, protested against the probate of Governor Bellingham's 
will. That declared insufficient by the General Court at the session begin- 
ning May 27, 1674, was probably the one which follows in brackets, dis- 
covered since Judge Chamberlain wrote. Although Samuel Bellingham 
affixed his signature to it April 8, 1673, Ephraim Bendall did not make 
oath as witness thereto until June 19, 1G74. For this reason, presum- 
ably, the Court deemed that it " was not legally prooved." Yet the 
Court accepted the letter at its October session {supra, p. 442), although 
then, so far as appears, proved by only one witness, not, as was customary, 
by two witnesses. Naturally the Massachusetts courts could not accept 
a power of attorney to collect debts as an authorization to dispute a will.] 



Chap. X] APPENDIX 461 

[Samuel Bellingliam's Second Poiver of Attorney to 
Richard Wharton ^^ 

To all wliome these presents shall concerne Sam'.' Bellingham 
EsqV sendeth greeting : Whereas the Lord the Sovereigne disposer 
of all our times hath lately tooke to himselfe my Hono^''^ & Deare 
ffather Eichard Bellingham — of Boston — in the Mattachusets 
Bay in New-England Esq? Late HonoV^ Governor there; And 
AAHiereas I the s^ Saml' Bellingham — am the onely Sonn — 
Issue & onely & undoubted heire unto the s^ Richard Bellingham 
— , whereby according to the Lawes of the s? place the whole 
Estate both personall & reall of the saide Richard Bellingham — 
(Excepting onely one thirds of the lands to bee enjoied by my 
hono^'*^ Motlicr mi's Penelope Bellingham — my s*? Hono''"? ffathers 
AViddow during her naturall life) is fal'n unto & is become the 
certain & undoubted right of mee the s? Sam'.' Bellingham — 
being the onely heire to my s^ hono'"? ffather as afores"? & Wliereas 
some have unjustly and illegally endeavoured to have disinherited 
& defrauded mee the s^ Sam'.' Bellingham — & my heires of our 
due right & title in the s^^ Estate of the s? Richard Bellingham 
my s^ Hono""? ffather ; and whereas I the s? Samuel Bellingham 
am at present at that distance as I cannot soe speedily bee pres- 
ent there as my occasions there may require; And AVhereas my 
Respected & faithfuU ffreind mr Rich? Wharton -of Boston - 
Merchant my true & Lawfull Attourny hath in my Name & by 
my authority made Legall claime to my s*^ ffathers Estate on my 
behalfe; as also hath put in many just & Legall Exceptions ag* 
the unjust il legall & irrationall. praetexts whereby some endeavo? 
to defraud mee the s? Sam". Bellingham — of my right & title 
in the premisses as afores"? Reserving withall Liberty either for 
my selfe or my Lawfull Attourny to adde what at any time the 
Justice of the cause may further require. — 

Now Know Yee that I the s? Sam" Bellingham - doe lierein - & 
hereby these presents autorize constitute & appoint the s*^ Rich? 
Wharton - my true & Lawfull Attourny in my Name & for my 
vse to demand require receive all t]ie personall & reall Estate that 
was lately belonging to the saide Richard Bellingham - my s? 
Hono''? ffather within the fores? Jurisdiction - of the Goverment 
of the Massathusetts Bay (excepting onely my s? Hono""? l^Iothers 
thirds of the lands which Shee is to enjoy during her life as 
afores?) As also to demand receive & make Legall Seizure of the 
reversion -of all & every part of the saide thirds (which is tu 

" Suff. Early Court Files, No. 1330. 



462 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. X 

bee in my s^ hono'^"'? Mothers possession during her natiirall life 
as afores^) on the behalf e & for the use of mee the saide Sam'.' 
Bellingham - my heires & assignes-And whatever Rents profits 
priviledges Emoluments, debts dues whatever ariseing or becom- 
ing due out of the s"? premisses or all or any part thereof that 
hee my saide Attourny on my behalfe & for my vse receive & 
secure the same as afores^ and in case of denyall or refusall of 
the premisses or all or any part thereof by any persons whatso- 
ever under any pretences whatever to Sue implead peticon cofu'ence 
any Suite Action or Actions Attach arrest imprison — & upon 
the delivery receite & full performance of the premisses or any 
part thereof as aboue required accordingly to acquit release dis- 
charge for such pt of the premisses as is soe delivered p^^ per- 
formed unto or rec^ by him my said Attourny on my behalfe as 
afores^ And to doe & performe any other lawfull act or acts what- 
soever for the due obtaining of the premisses on my behalfe as 
afores^ as if I the s^ Sam'.' Bellingham were personally present -- 
Thus allowing approving confirming whatever my s^ Attourny 
shall in the pursuance & due Execucon of the premisses lawfully 
doe or cause to bee done ; Eevoaking & Nulling all former Letters 
of Attourny concerning the fores^ premisses or any part thereof; 
as also reserving to mee the s^3 Sam'.' Bellingham - full power & 
authority of makeing or causeing to bee made any other Letter 
of Attourny or any further addition -or alteration - as my occa- 
sions at anytime may require concerning the premisses or any 
part thereof. In Testimony hereof I the s^ Sam'.' Bellingham 
set to my hand & Scale this eight day of the Second Month - 
called Aprill in the yeare of our Lord One thousand Six hundred 
Seventy & three & of his Majesties Eeign the Twenty fifth — 

Sam" : Bellingham - 
Signed Sealed & Delivered 
in presence of 
John Medhurst 
Ephraim Bondall. 

Ephraim Bendall-aged about . 25 . yeares made Oath 
that hee certainly knowes this Letter of Attourny to bee 
mF Sam"- Bellinghams hand Writing & that hee saw him 
Signe Scale & Deliver the same for the vse therein men- 
tioned as his act & Deed to which this Dep* Subscribed 
his hand as a Witness . — 

Taken upon . Oath this . 19*^ 4^^ 74 
Before mee Simon Bradstreet Assist. 
That what is Written on the other side & this is a true 
Coppie of the Originall Letter of Attourny with the Oath 



Chap. X] APPENDIX 463 

taken thereupon & Left in the Generall Court file of Octo- 
ber : 1674 . being therewith compared Attests. 

Edward Eawson - Secret. 
This is a true Coppie of that on file with the 
. Records of the County Court of SuflPolke as Attests. 

Is?- Addington Cler^] 



464 HISTORY OP CHELSEA [Chap. XI 



R 



CHAPTEK XI 

EICHAED WHARTON SUES FOR HIS SERVICES 

rCHARD WHART0:N^ having rendered essential ser- 
vices to 'Samuel Bellingliam wanted his pav, and after 
long waiting sent him the following account and letter. 

Richard Wharton's Accoxjnt. (') 

Dr Samll Bellingham — Esqr 

1673 ffor building and fenceing upon his Estate £412 " — " — 

for money pd p nU' Legay in London with 

advance at 25 p CentV) £125" — " — 

1G75 ffor 34£ p mr Marks acco spent in sol- 
liciting ye Kings order 25 p C for Ex- 
chenge 43 " 1 " 3 

Augt 5 ffor 50£ p mr Styles 62 " 10 " — 

for Sundry smal debts of his fathers pd . . 17 " 10 " — 

for Charges in law in recovering & defending 

ffor 9 years rent of the ferry (^) at 3i p ana 27" — " — 
his Estate from ye time of his fathers 
death till this time being Nine years & 
a quarter £196" 7" 6 

for IQt paid mi" Higginson and 10* more pay- 
able on mr Bellinghams request .... 20" — " — 

ffor so much pd in part of a Judgemt obtaind 
by mr Willoughbyes Execution ye whole 
being 100£ Starling and Costs of Courts \ 50 " — " — 

954 " 7 " 6 
Cr 
by money reed of mr Stoddard p order of the 

Generll Court ( = ) £100" — " — 

By Cash from Gingell and Bray Wilkins (">) . £ 56 " — " — 

' Chamberlain MSS., 1. 49. 

= [Presumably this was the £100 paid Wharton by order of the General 
Court. Supra, pp. 442, 443.] 

" [See chap, xxiii. for the suit by which this rent was recovered.] 

* [This suit throws light on the life and character of Dr. Samuel Bell- 
ingham. The papers are given inf7-a. pp. 472-478.] 

•■■ [Jlarch 9, 1659/60, Governor Bellingham sold to Bray Wilkins and 
John Gingle a farm, laid out for him by order of the General Court in 1639, 
containing about 800 or 850 acres. A part of the purchase money was 
secured by a mortgage, the last payment thereon being made in 1676. 
C. W. Upiiam, Salem Witchcraft, i. 143-145.] 



Chap. XI] WHARTON SUES FOR HIS SERVICES 465 

by 8 years rent from Lt Smith £400 " — " — 

by 5 years rent from Wm Eustase the last 

payable in march next 100 " — " — 

by 5 years rent due from Jer : Belcher ... 50 " — " — 

by rent for Marsh at maldyn 8 " — " — 

by rent for a pasture at Boston 10" — " — 

by money from mr Nath Olliver 14 " 18 " — 

rents due to ballance £215 " 9 " £954 " 7 " 6 



Wharton's Letter to Samuel Bellingham 

gr yw ^.ju i-igpg discerne y* from y^ last year J concerned myself 
in your affairs I have allwayes been in disburst for you at least 
200 £ for which I have not charged intrest but shall refer the sume 
of my 4 years continuall and Vexatious Sollicitation to your owne 
ingenious consideration or the Judgm*^ of friends here that have 
had y^ sence of my service and suffering in your behalfe 

Y^ may pleas also to take notice that this being onely an ab- 
stract time and order is not so exactly attended as in y*^ particulars 
w^*^ would make to large a volum to send ^ post as things have 
referance. so are they reduced into a few Articles w^*^ if not Clear 
to your vndorstanding if need be shall be explained by contracts 
Court records and other plain demonstrations and Evidence — 
Please also to consider y* m"" Marks ® the Sollic*"^" never had any 
reward for the good service he did you, his widow is poore and both 
needs and Expects it from me pray therefor give your order in 
that respect. 

Copie The Originall was subscribed an Sent in a letter Dated 
ffeb-^y 30 : 1681 [1682] Rd Wharton 

A true Copie of that on file 

= Attest"^" Joseph Webb Cler 

Petition of Richard Wharton '' 

To the Hon*"*^® the Governor & Assistants 
in the County Court. 
The humble Petition of Bichard Wharton Attorny to Sam" 
Bellingham Esq? and in his right Adm? upon the Lands late 
of Eichard Bellingham Esq- Dec^. 

' This refers to the item in his account given above for money due 
Marks, the solicitor who procured the King's (Charles II.) order to the 
General Court for setting aside Governor Bellingham's will. This fact, 
remarkable like almost everything else respecting tliis case, has escaped 
notice. The records of the General Court give no hint of tliis royal inter- 

' Chamberlain MSS., i. 51. 
VOL. I. — 30 



4GG HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Cuap. XI 

Showetb./ 

That yo- Petition?' for recovery of the s^l Lands haveiug for the 
Space of four yeares and upwards been obliged under many dis- 
advantages, difficultyes & discouragements, continually to contend 
in defence and prosecution of many uncomfortable Law Suites, 
and was thereby, and for buildings, repaires, paym^ of Debts and 
for m!" Samuel Bellinghams Supply and accoiiiodation necessitated 
to expend Sundry considerable SuiTies, And yo'" Petition^ haveing 
often layd before m'- Bellingham the Condition of his Estate here, 
and the need of his presence or power to some friend here to 
adjust Accompts, and to settle & improve his Estate, But he being 
remiss herein yo? Petitioner the last Sunler upon m'" Bellingham's 
iterated invitatc-on ordered his son (to the end afores*^) to travell 
purposely from London to Bremen in Germany from whence m- 
Bellingham had retired himselfe and yo? Petition?" being both by 
his Son and others informed the great difficulty if not impossi- 
bility by reason of mF Bellingham's remote retirement of coining 
to a conference or Adjusting Accompts with him, and yo? PetV^ 
occasions calling him shortly out of the Country, holds it not only 
his duty to m? Bellingham but also to his owne family first to 
endeavour the settlement of Accompts and affaires in this concern, 
To which your Pet?" is the .more earnestly excited whils't God still 
spares you that have many of you been Judges, and others that 
have been witnesses in the transactions & matters aforesaid. — 

Therefore and because no other person improved by m^ Bel- 
lingham is present and yoF Petr^ Accompts of his disbiirsments 
travell and transactions long and some perticulars intricate, many 
Articles being not otherwise to be proved then by the Effects and 
such other Demonstrations as would be too tedious for the Hono*"**** 
Court to attend. Yor Petr humbly prayes the Court in m'" Bel- 
linghams behalfe would be pleased to appoint some judicious 
psons, that have had oppertunity to observe yor Petition'"? transac- 
tions & trouble in this concern, or at least one to jo^m with such 
other indifferent pson as yor Petr may nominate, and the Court 
approve to examine , audit and consider the Acco*^^ of 3^0'" PetF^ 
disbursm^^ time and trouble and to impower them if they see 
cause to imploy some honest & skilfull Carpenters or other meet 
persons to survey and value the buildings & repaires made by yoF 
Petition'; and upon the whole matter to make and Keturn to this 

ference, except in Wharton's petition (supra, p. 448), which has attracted 
no attention. Wo loarn it only from Wharton's account and letter, con- 
firmed by Paul Dudley, infra, p. 533. [See the King's letter, supra, 
p. 444.] 



CiiAP. XI] WHARTON SUES FOR HIS SERVICES 4J7 

Honoi'^ Court such judgcmt computation and Eeport as to them 
in Conscience may seem just and reasonable, 
and yol" Pet'' shall ever pray 
This Petition received into Court 30*^ March 1682. And in 
answer thereto m?" Samuel Sewall, m? Sampson Sheafe & ml" Jolin 
Hubbard are appointed an Auditt to examine and consider the 
Petition'"^ Accompts rclateing unto m? Samuel Bellinghams buisness 
within mentioned, and impowered to Act in all respects therein 
as is above prayed And upon due consideration of s*^ Accompts 
to make report to this Court of their Judgem* upon the whole 
matter. Is& Addington Olre ^ 

Wee the Auditors mentioned in the Court Order on the other side, 
In pursuance of the buisness to us therein coiuitted doe Eequest 
Capta John Holbrooke L^i Samli White, mF Stephen ffrench and 
Ensigne James Pecker or any two or three of them, to view and 
survay all such houseing Edifices and buildings as have been 
erected by the Order and appointment of m? Richard Wharton at 
Winnisimett and to give information thereof to us of the Estimate 
and value of the same. Jn^ Hubbard 

Boston 199 May 1683. Sampson Sheafe 

Samuel Sewall 

Wee whose names are hereunto subscribed being desired by the 
Audito'-^ of the Accot*^ between mr Eichard Wharton and m!" 
Samuel Bellingham to apprize the severall buildings and Edifices 
Erected by mT Wharton at Winnisimet do according to our best 
understanding Judge the s'^' buildings ffences and repaires to cost 
four hundred pounds for the workmanship and materials besides 
charges in raysing and other necessary Expences w^ according to 
our Judgement is worth Ten pounds./ John Holbrooke 
May. 25. 1682. James Pecker 

Stephen French ^ 

* [At this point in the document the following attestations appear: 
" This is a true Copie of it's Original on file with the Records of the County 
Court for Suffolke As attests Isa: Addington Clrc. A true Copie of that 
on file = Attest Josepii Webb Cler." See infra, p. 479, a suit brougiit by 
Richard Wiiarton in behalf of S. Bellingham at the April term of Court, 
1082. Joseph Webb was chosen clerk of the County Court in 1G90.] 

' [The final attestation to this document reads: " Tlie above are true 
Copies of the Originals annexed to the Copie of the Petition on file Attest 
Isa Addington Clre. A true Copie of that on file = attestr Joseph Webb 
Cler." Endorsed: "Bellingham veii) Eustace 7 paprs April . 1G97." Thus 
this was an attested copy made for use in the suit given infra, pp. 482-48S. 
Among the papers of that suit, Cliamherlain MSS., i. 53, was a copy of 



4 08 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XI 

Notwithstanding the foregoing report, Wharton was obliged 
to sue Samuel Bellingham, which he did a year later, and 
attached the Eustace farm. The judgment of the County 
Court follows: ^" 

At a County Court for Suffolke held at Boston 31° luly Ann^ 
1683. — 

Eichard "Wharton Attourny or Agent to Samuel Bellingham 
Esq? P^ cont? the goods or Estate of s^ Samuel Bellingham Def? 
in an action of the case for witholding from the pl^ the suiTie 
of Seven hundred and Six pounds two Shillings or thereabout in 
money due to the pl^ for mony remitted to and expended for & 
in s^ Bellinghams behalfe and buisness, and for Service done for 
him as may appeare p an Accompt audited by order of. & received 
& put on Record by the County Court of Suffolke, and by an addi- 
tional accompt ready to bee presented with due damages : The 
attachment and Evidences in the case produced being read & com- 
mitted to the Jury, which are on file, the Jury brought in their 
Verdict, they found for the pH Seven hundred & Six pounds three 
Shillings Seven pence halfe penny in money and costs of Court, 
allowed twenty ffive Shillings and eight pence. 

This case was tryed at the last County Court," but Judgem* 
not entred according to law untill this Court The Deft being 

out of this Jurisdiction. 

Execution issued. 15? Septr — 1683 — ^- 

the above appraisement, signed by Holbrook, Pecker, and French, with tlie 
following testimony appended : — 

" James Pecker niaketh Oatli to the Apprisenit above, to wch his Name is 
Subscribed and that Captn Holbrook and mr ffrench at the same time Sub- 
scribed their names thereto in the Deponents Sight & presence all the 
Apprisers fully and freely consenting thereto, and make their apprismts 
as for money Sworne in Court 26o April 1683. 

A true Copie of that on file attests. Jsa Addington Cler./. 

= Attestr Josepli Webb Cler "] 

1" MSS. Rec. of SuflF. County Court, 1680-1692, p. 135. [The judges at 
this term of the court were Simon Bradstreet, William Stoughton, Humpliry 
Davie, Samuel Nowell, John Hull, and Daniel Fisher. See also Early Court 
Files SufT. Co., No. 4639.] 

" [Adam Winthrop and Richard Wharton were jurymen at the April 
term of the Court. John Woodmansey took Wharton's place for this 
action.] 

" [A copy attested by Joseph Webb, apparently for use in the same 
suit as the preceding, is in Chamberlain MSS., i. 53.] 



Chap. XI] WHARTON SUES FOR HIS SERVICES 469 

Writ of Exccidlon ^" 

To the Marshall of Suffolk or his Deputy 
You are required in his Ma**^^ jSTame to levy by Execution upon 
the Estate and in want thereof the person of Samuel Bellingham 
Esq'" in nioney the sume of seven hundred and seven pounds nine 
shillings three pence halfe penny, with two shillings more for this 
Execution and deliver the same unto Eichard Wharton Attourny 
or Agent of s*! m^ Bellingham, which is in Satisfaction of a Judge- 
ment granted him for so much upon a Tryal at the County Court 
Sitting in Boston 24? of April 1683 but not Entred according to 
Law untill the Court in July ult9 the Defend* being out of the 
Jurisdiction, — hereof you may not faile, makeing yo? Eeturn 
according to Law. Dated in Boston y® ffifteenth Septemb!^" 1683. 

^1 Curiam Js? Addington Clrc. 
Eeturn Jndorsed./ 

October 19 . 1683. 
J extended this Execution on a farme of Samuel Bellingham Esq? 
at Winnisimet with an Acre & halfe of Land more or less which 
was aj)prized by m? John Blake, mr Moses Paine & James Pem- 
berton to the value of foure hundred & ffifty pounds New-England 
money & no more 

Eeturne Waite Marsh" 
The Apprizm^ annexe 

"Wee whose names are subscribed being by Eeturne Waite Marshall 
of the County of SufPolke called to iVpprize a ffarme at Winysimett 
belonging to Sam'.' Bellingham EsqV together with an Acre & an 
halfe of Land more or less where the clay pitts are inclosed be- 
tween said farme and L** Smith's Corne fiields, which said ffarme- 
is now in the possession of William Eustace, and is commonly- 
called by the name of the little ffarme, do Judge the sd farme 
with all buildings flfencings meadows upland priviledges and 
appurtenances thereto belonging, with the aforesaid inclosed pcell 
of land, to be worth ffoure hundred & ffifty pounds New England 
money & no more. John Blake 

Winnisiinet October 19 : 1683 Moses Paine 

James CJ) Pemberton 
his marke 
Mr John Blake ml" Moses Paine & James Pemberton personally 
appearing 20ti^ October 1683 

made Oath that all sinister respects being layd aside they have 
made a just Apprizem* of the Estate within mentioned at foure 

" Chamberlain MSS., i. 55. 



.^^ HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XI 

470 

hundred & ffifty pounds in money according to their best Judge- 
ment & Conscience 
Boston Sworn before Js4 Addington Comiss " 

And thus Richard "Wliarton got the Shurtleff farm for ser- 
vices rendered to Dr. Samuel Bellingham. Though he was not 
a lawyer, presumably his compensation was not more than ade- 
cpiate for his trouble and expenses, which, as we have seen, 
must have been considerable. Nevertheless Samuel Belling- 
ham's second and newly married wife coming to Boston a 
dozen years later to look after his estates, soundly rated Samuel 
Sewall for his share in the transaction by which her husband 
lost one of his farms at Winnisimmet. Sewall thought that he 
had been " wheadled and hector'd into that business." ^" 

The reasons for Sewall's compunctions are not obvious. 
Suits against absent defendants might be tried at the first term, 
but judgment not entered before the ensuing term, as in 
this case. The verdict was July 31, 1683;^^ judgment the 
next term; execution Se])tember 15, and extended on the 
farm October 19th. Doubtless Wharton gave " security to be 
responsal to the Defendant, if he shall reverse the Judgement 
Avithin one year, or such further time as the Court shall 
limit." ^"^ To have hunted up Bellingham in Germany for 

" [Endorsed: " Tlie foregoing Execution, Return indorsed and Ap- 
prisenit. are true Copies of their Originals = Attestr Josepli Webb Cler " ; 
and on the back, "Execution Return &c. No. 7." (See supra, note 9.) 
In Suff. Early Court Files, No. 4G39, is a later copy of the same document.] 

" December 22, 1G9G, " Note, this morn Madam Elisa Bellingham came 
to our house and upbraided me with setting my hand to pass Mr. Whar- 
ton's acco to the Court, where he obtain'd Judgmt for Eustace's farm. I 
was wheadled and hector'd into that business, and have all along been 
uneasy in the remembrance of it: and now there is one come who will 
not spare to lay load." Diary, i. 442. [See infra, pp. 482-488.] 

March 15, 1685/0, Wharton sold this farm, then known as the 
Eustace farm and of late as the Shurtleff farm, to Edward Thomas of 
Boston " as Agent for said Robert Thompson to and for the use of " said 
Major Robei't Thompson of London, for £300 New England currency. It 
remained in his family a himdred years, and was then claimed by the 
town of Chelsea under the Bellingham will. An account of tliis suit 
will be given in full. [The wife of Richard Wharton did not sign the 
deed to Thompson and after Wharton's death brought suit for dower. 
Infra, p. 481. The town of Chelsea brought suit to regain the farm in 
in 1757 ; infra, chap, xvii.] 

" [The verdict was at the April term of Court 1683; the judgment at 
the July term. Note the testimony of James Pecker, supra, note 9.] 

" Colonial Laws, Revision of 1072, Title, Attachments, 1. 



Chap. XI] WHARTON SUES FOR HIS SERVICES 471 

giving him personal notice of the suit would have been im- 
practicable. Nor could he publish the order of notice nov^' 
required, for no newspapers were printed in America until 
twenty years later, nor was the London Gazette, if available, 
a fit vehicle for that purpose. Besides, Wharton had sent to 
Bellingham his account in February, 1681/2.^* 

Nevertheless, either from some irregularity, or because 
AYharton's claim was deemed exorbitant, the result gave dis- 
satisfaction to the defendant, and extorted from honest Samuel 
Sewall a cry of anguish thirteen years later when taxed with 
his share in the proceedings.^^ 

Indeed, no intelligent person, and especially no lawyer, can 
read the proceedings of the Massachusetts Courts in those 
days, or of the General Court when sitting in its judicial 
capacity, M^thout noticing the irregular, absurd, and often 
unjust methods of undertaking to do justice between parties. 

On the other hand the laws for the administration of jus- 
tice, as seen in the revision of 1672, are as precise, clear, and 
as well drawn as those of England, or making allowance for 
the growth of jurisprudence, as those of New England at the 
present day. The contrast, however, between the system and 
its working is striking. 

Nor is the reason obscure. The system, copied from that 
devised by skilful English lawyers and judges, was worked 
in Massachusetts by laymen, often clergymen. No trained 
lawyers had been in the Colony since Lechford found reason 
for leaving it; nor was there any practising lawyer in the 
General Court until near the close of the first third of the 
next century, when John Read was returned as member, per- 
haps because he had been a popular preacher. 

" [The last item in that account was " rents due to ballance — 
£215. 9. 6." In April, 1673, the rents at Winnisimmet ajrgregated £120 
a j-ear. {(^upra, p. 427.) Dr. Samuel Bellingham would scarcely expect 
therefore, to receive further remittances until nearly three years had 
passed, for according to the account, over £50 was still due Mr. Wil- 
lougliby. As Wharton sued in April, 1683, for £706, and the balance due 
on account in February, 1681/2, was £215, he must, apparently, have valued 
his services at between five and six hundred pounds.] 

" [See infra, pp. 482-494, the suit by which Mrs. Elizabeth Bellingham, 
wife of Dr. Samuel Bellingham, regained this farm; also the suit brought 
by the heir of Robert Thompson, after her death, by which he recovered 
the farm.] 



472 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XI 



APPENDIX 1 

[Hammond vs. Bellingham ^ 

Writ of Aitacliment ^ 

To the Marshall Generall, or his Deputy 

You are in hisMaj^'f^ Name to Attach the Goods & Chattells, or 
other Estate of M?" Samuel Bellingham, in the Custody and pos- 
session of Mr Richard Wharton, his Attomy, or where else you 
can find it, to the value of Two hundred pounds, for his Appear- 
ance at the County Court to be held at Cambridge the seventh 
instant, then & there to Answer y^ Complaint of Cap? Laurence 
Hammond & of Mr^ Margaret Hammond his wife, the Eelict 
Widow & Executrix to y*^ Estate of ifrancis Willoughby Esqr 
Late of CharlesTowne, deceased — In an Action of Debt due 
to the Estate of y® said ffrancis Willoughby by bond, bearing date 
the thirtieth day June one thousand six hundred & Sixty (for 
fifty one pounds ten shillings sterling mony of England.) ^ w*"^ 
due damages, & hereof you are to give notice to the said Mr 
Eichard Wharton, & make retume of the whole under your hand, 
as the Law provides Dated October 2^ 1679. By the Court James 
Gary Clerk. Charlstowne 

By vertue Hearoff J Deputte m"" Sammuell Huntting Con- 
stable off Charlestowne my Lawffull Deputy ffor the 
Execution off this warrantt 

2 : 8 : 79 Edward Mitciiellsonn 

marshel gene, 
[endorsed on back] 

I haue Attached the house & farme of Mr Samuell Bellingham, 
to be Responsible, According to the true Jntent of this Attach- 
ment; & left the Same Jn the Possesion of Leiu* Smith; of 
Winnesimet October the 2^ : 1679 

P, Sam" Hunting 
Deputy to the ]\Iarshall Gen'^ 

' The papers in this suit are in Middlesex Court Files, October term, 
1679. Captain Hammond and his wife lived in Middlesex County, but the 
farm attached, and the residence of Richard Wharton, attorney to Samuel 
Bellingham, were in Suffolk County. 

" The original writ with the official endorsements thereon. 

* The words in this parenthesis were interlined. 



Chap. XI] APPENDIX 1 473 

I left a Coppi of this atachment at M"* WTiortins hous With an a 
Covnt of what i had atacht. 

October 2 16T9 Samuel Hunting 

Deputy to the Marshal gen" 

M*" Samuel BeUingham's Bond. Anno 1660 * 

Know all men by these p'^sents that J Samuel Bellingham 
of the Parish of Merton in the County of Surrey Gent, 
doe acknowledge my Selfe to Owe & Stand Jndebted unto 
Francis Willoughby of the Parish of S*^ Olaues Hart street 
The Sume of One hundred Pounds of Lawfull mony of 
England to Bee payd to the Said Francis Willowby his 
Executo'"^ or Assignes, To the True Paym* wherof J bind 
my Selfe my heires Executo'"^ Ad[ministra]to^® & Assignes 
by these p^'sents Signed [then] Sealed with my Scale this 
thirtyeth day of June [in] the yeare of o"" Lord one thousd 
Six hundred & Sixtye & of His Maiestyes Eaigne the 
Twelfth ; 

The Condition of this Obligation is Such that Jf the aboue 
bounden Samuel Bellingham his heires Executor's Adminis- 
trator's or Assignes shall Pay or Cause to bee Payd unto the 
aboue named Francis Willoughby his Executor's or Assignes 
at his now dwelling house in Seething Lane in London the 
full Sum'e of ffiftye Pounds of Lawfull Monye of England, 
with thirty Shillings ouer & aboue the said Sume for the 
use & interest therof at or before the twenty Sixth day of 
December next ensuing the date hereof, Then this Obliga- 
tion to bee void & of noe effect, Otherwise to bee in full force 
& virtue; ^-^ 

Signed Sealed & deliuered Sa : Bellingham TsealV 

in pr'sence of. . V_y^ 

Henry Shergall 

Owen : Floyd 

Francis Willoughby to Samuel Bellingham^ 

Oct. 12, 1661 
Sir 

J suppose you will not wonder y* J visitt you once in foure 
or fine monthes & the rather for y* J am not worthy of an 

• This is the endorsement on the back of the bond. 

• Impression in wax with a coat of arms. 

• Apparently in the handwriting of Francis Willoughby. 



474 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XI 

answer "to my last of y^ first of June last — the Contents 
you know to be matter of mony w*^*^ you desired y^ lone of 
for a quarter of a yeare & how long expired you cannot butt 
know, if thatt be y*^ pduct of remoues to holland itt will 
make frinds afraid to attempte thitherward really Sir how 
a man of your seeming inienuety [ingenuity?] can dispence 
wth your selfe in a busones of y*^ nature or answer a frindly 
demaund to any y* desire satisfaction I know not. Js not 
fifty od pound after eight or ten monthes absence w*^ a 
departure wthout frinds knowledge worth an apoligy pray 
Consider itt & tell me how you wall answer itt to man to 
Conscience or to god. am J become an offender because 
J was ciuill Avere there noe late transactions \\ might haue 
begott a litle Corispondency but must J sell my mony wth 
my frind, where is y* ould inienuety ciuility & Christianity 
y*^ aquantance & feshon & affliction calls for. Are you 
remoued from your frinds from your feares & y^ troubls y* 
others of your ffrinds are like to feele y* you may act & doe 
as you list ; pray sir Consider & doe not puoke y^ spiritts of 
your frinds J bles god J doe not charge religion but J asure 
you such actings will expose the name of god, & you may 
be instrumental! to bring y* reproche vppon his wayes wch 
you may not be able to recouer pray sir Consider & beleue y* 
my ocations call for my owne not onely as mine but as my 
afaiers neede itt. J Hue in hope you will not trouble your 
selfe or mee to reade or wright farther on this subiect, 
hoping y*^ next conuayance will giue mee ground to say J am 
satisfyed wch is y*^ J much long for : as allsoe to vindicate 
your reputation wch you neede : J rest willing to aproue 
myselfe your ffrind 

fir. Willoughby 
London att y^ broad -arrow 
head att m'" Speeds in 
cheapeside : 12^ octo 61 

Francis Willouglihy to 

Sir 
J am . Constrayned to enter an Action agaynst y^ estate of m"^ 
Sam. Belingham (hauing vsed other meanes) for a debt due to 
me in England euer since ye yeare 60, And haue troubled my 

' This and the following paper bear no endorsements. The records of 
the Middipi?ex County Court for the year 16G.5 are missing; the files for 
that year contain no papers of the suit referred to. 



Chap. XI] . APPENDIX 1 475 

frind m'" Collicott to manage ye busones for me My request to 
you is y*^ itt may be one of y® first actions because m^" Collicott 
busones calls him away & w* charge for entry of y^ action &c, 
J will [illegible] become your sertayne debitor. J am 

Charlestowne first 2^ G5./ your serut 

J pleade not for fauaur ffr Willoughby. 

Justice will mak mee a succor 

Power of Attorney from Francis Willoughby "^ 

J doe By these presents substitute and apoynt my very louing 
ffrind m"^ Rich. Collicott my true & lawfull Attorney to psicute 
my Action now depending att y^ Court att Cambridge agaynst 
the estate of m'" Sam Bellingham in y^ hands of m'" Brattle his_ 
attorney or any other pson pmising o ratify Conferme & aproue 
of w"^ my sd attorney shall doe in y^ premises as wittnes my hand 
& seale this first of y? 2*^ month Ififi5 

ffr Willoughby. 

Samuel Bellingham to Richard Wharton 

Part of a Letter from W^ Bellingham from Bremen 
Augt 30 : lfi7>^ 

As for M^ Willoughbyes business J am Exceedingly jnjured 
therein alsoe, his Son Came over Long Since, and brought me 
a Letter from his father, with positiue order to pay unto him 
fifty pds, & because J paid it not p''sently, by Vertue of authority 
from his father he arested my goods in London, then in y^ hands 
of M^" Brookes March*, as appears by M'" Brookes Letters then 
sent me, — which hinderd my goods from being sent to me that 
oppertunity, w?'^ was y^ occasion of the Loss both of my goods 
books and papers by fire in y® Burning of the City after,^ he 
aresting them in y^ hands of the March* that then had received 
them in order to send them to me, that oppertunity was lost &c : 
they still delay'd till y^ fire tooke them, which had they not been 
stayed by him, might then haue Come Safe to me Soe J haueing 
fifty four pds in y® hands of some friends in Engld, J was forced 
to giuc his Son a Bill of Exchg to receive that Sume, Expecting 
he would haue sent me my bond or Cancelld it before some friends, 
if he had not received it, he should haue protested my Bill & 
Continued his arest upon my goods. But hee being Satisfyed, J 
was Confident he had received it, Soe y* J never Demanded nor 

' The great fire of London was in September, 1G6G. 



47G HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XT 

received one penny of it to this day, w^^ he should liaue done 
had not he received it, But of this J gaue m*" Willoughby Severall 
yeares agone in a larg Letter J sent him Concerning it, w^*^ was 
delivered him in yf p'"sence of my father & y^ other Magistrates, 
to full Satisfacc^n, that he had not a word to object ag^ it, w^^ 
letter (as J heard) not onely Silenced him before them, but made 
him Very much ashamed of his Soe much troubling me, & dureing 
y^ whole tyme of his life after, he never Demanded it more of me, 
what ever his Son did with it in Engld J Cannot giue ace*; y® 
Money was duely pd by me, my Bills never protested, & not one 
penny of the Money ever demanded by or pd to me to this day 
&c = 
A true Copy Compared w*^ y« originall J : R : C '^ : Octob'" : 7 : 79 

The deposition of John Higginson Sen Aged 63 ^^ 
Being called to say w* J remember in a discours between m*" 
Willowby (A late deputy Governor) ^^ & my selfe (some time in 
y^ summer of y^ year 1670) about m"* Bellinghams debt to him, 
if it may be of any vse for y^ clearing vp of truth & righteousnes 
— this is all I can say for y^ Substance, y* I do well remember 
m'" Bellingham writing to me then desired me to speak with his 
honoured Father about a Supply to be sent ouer to him, his 
Father excused it as by other things, so by his being lyable to 
pay a debt for him to m*" Willowby, m"" Bellingham vnderstanding 
this, replyed — his 2^ Letter to me y* m'' Willowby reviled him 
&c (as appears in y^ letter) I speaking with m'' Willowby about 
it, He tould me y* He was not guilty of reviling him any other- 
wise then saying y^ 50' he had lent him so many years before 
was not payd to him to y* day : He sayd indeed m"* Bell : Father 
had tendred him pa}Tnent in Indian Come & by m"" Treasurer 
Russell, but not in Money, when it was Money he had lent his 
Son & Money he demanded as also something for vse. Having 
seen y*^ hand vnto y^ Bond its seems to me to be so like his hand 
in other of his Letters, y* J haue no doubt but it is m'" Sam. 
Bellinghams hand. 

Taken vpon oath 4-7-79. 
before me Edm Batter Comissio'" in Salem 

• Jonathan Remington, Clerk to the Middlesex County Court. 

" Rev. John Higginson of Salem was the father of Richard Wharton's 
second wife. The attestation to this deposition is in a poorer and more 
antiquated hand than the body of the document. It is endorsed " Mr Jn9 
Higginson's Testimony." 

" The words within this parenthesis were placed in the margin with a 
caret to designate the point for their insertion. 



Chap. XI] APPENDIX 1 477 

Judgment in the County Court ^^ 
At a Coun Court held at Cambridge — October 7*^ 1679 . . . 

Capt Lau : Hamond ^^P" La^rance Hamond & m- Margarett 
t Haiuond his wite, y^ relict widow & exec- 

m^ Sam : Bellingham l^''"" ,*° ^'/'*f*' ,^^, ffrancis Willoughby 
Jiisql' late ot Charlestowne deced. Plant, 
ag* m'' Samuel Bellingham, in an accou of debt due to y^ estate 
of the said ffrancis Willoughby by bond bearing date the 30*^ 
of June 1660. for 51* 10^. 00. sterling money of England, with 
due damages, according to Attachm^ on file. dat. octob. 2. 79. 
The Jury haueing heard the severall pleas & evidences in the 
case, as they were severally p'^'sented, by the pi. & m^" Ri : Wharton 
in behalfe of the Deff? & as his Attorney, brought in. their verdict 
finding for the pis. the bond of fifty one pounds ten shill. & 
interest for the same nineten yeares, at eight pounds p hundred. 
and is seaventy six pounds damages besides the bond abovenamed. 
& costs of Court. 

M*" Hi : Wharton Attorney of the Deff* as above made his appeale 
from the Judgem*^ of this Court, unto the next Court of Assistants. 
and gave bond to prossecute y*^ same to effect as y*^ law provides. 
M'" Ei : Wharton, attorney for m"^ Samuel Bellingham appearing 
in Court doth acknowledge himselfe to stand bound, (together 
with the estate of m"* Samuel Bellingham Attached to answ"^" this 
Sute) in the Sume of three hundred pounds sterl. to the Trer 
of the Coun, for & to y^ use of the p* Capt Laur. Hamond to be 
by him said Wharton forfeited & payd, On Condiccbn y*^ he will 
psecute this his Appeale to effect as the law directs.^^ 

Judgment in the Court of Assistants ^* 

Att A Court of Assistants held at Boston 2^ day of march 1679 
[1680]. . . . 

Samuel Bellingham Esq"" plaintiffe against Cap* Lawrence 

Hamond & margaret his wife execcutrix to y*^ last will of the late 

... , J Francis willowby Esq"" deffendant in an action 

Bellingham ag ^^ Appeale from the Judgment of the County 

_ Court at Cambridge in octobe'" last After the 

^^ ' Attachment Courts Judgment Reasons of Ap- 

" MSS. Records of the Middlesex County Court, 1G71-1CS0, pp. 286, 
287. 

" Ricliard Wharton's Reasons of Appeal, the Answer to the Reasons of 
Appeal, and the bill of costs on the appeal, are in Suff. Early Court Files, 
No. 18:31, Papers 4, 5, and G. 

" Records of the Court of Assistants, i. 157. 



478 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XI 

peale & eiiidences in the Case produced were read Comitted to 
the Jury and are on file w*^ the Eeccords of this Court the Jury 
brought in their virdict they found for y^ deffend* the forfeiture 
of the bond one hundred^ pounds starling money of England & 
Costs of this & forme"' Courts : 15^ 10<^ This Judgm*^ is to stand 
entred according to law from y^ nex* Court of Assistants in 
Septembe"" nex*^] 



Chap. XII APPENDIX 2 479 



APPENDIX 2 
[Wharton cont^ Stoddard^ 

At a County Court for Suffolke held at Boston: 25^ April. 
An« 1682. . . . 

Kichard Wharton Attourny to Sam" Bellingham Esq? Son 
and heire to Richard Bellingham Esqi" deced plaint, cont? m^" 
Anthony Stoddard sometime pretended Trustee and Executor to 
the Estate and last will of the s^ Rich^ Bellingham — in an action 
of the case for that the Defendt deteines from the sd Sam'.' Bel- 
lingham and the plaint, as Attourny afores*! and refuses to render 
any accompt. of such bills bonds accompts deeds evidences and 
writeings late belonging to s^ Rich^ Bellingham and now to the 
s^ Sam" Bellingham as the Def^ by virtue of his afores^' pretended 
trust and power Seized upon or otherwise have come to his hands 
or knowledge &c?^ The attachm* and evidences in the case pro- 
duced being read and coiTiitted to the Jury which are on file The 
Jury brought in their Verdict, they found for the plaint. 
Viz* That the Defend^ render to the plaint, a just and true 
accompt of all such bonds bills accompts Deeds & other writeings 
of concemmt belonging to the Estate of the late Honof^I Richard 
Bellingham Esqi' which were coiiiitted to his Custody, or were 
delivered to him with other Trustees to the s'l Estate; and that 
the Def* make Oath that none of the premisses are concealed by 
him or have been convayed away with his knowledge ot consent, 
and that such of them as are not already delivered bee delivered 
to the plaint, within fforty dayes ensuing or else to pay to the 
plaint, ffive hundred pounds and costs of Court. 

Wharton cont^ Ranger ^ 

At a County Court for Suifolke held at Boston 24? April A? 
1683. . . . 

Richard Wharton Attourny to Samuel Bellingham Esqr heire & 
Administrator to Richard Bellingham Esqr dece^ pi* cont? Ed- 
mond Ranger ^ Def* in an action of the case for witholding Eleven 

^ MSS. Records, Suff. Co. Court, 1680-1692, p. 94. 

» Ibid., 131. 

' Edmond Ranger witnessed the will of Governor Bellingham. 



480 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XI 

pounds money due to the s*? Sam. Bellingham for bookes sold the 
sf? Eanger by mV Anthony Stoddard being the Estate of s^ Eichard 
& Samuel Bellingham as appeares by the accompt & Oath of s^ m- 
Stoddard, wt^ all damages : The attachment & evidences in the 
case pduced being read & committed to the Jury which are on 
file, The Jury brought in their Verdict, They found for the 
Defend^ costs of Court.] 



Chap. XI] APPENDIX 3 481 



APPENDIX 3 

[Wharton vs. Eustace * 

At an Inferionr Court of Common Pleas holden in Boston for 
the County of Suffolke March 6*^ 1693/4. . . . 

Martha Wharton widow which was the wife of Eichard Whar- 
ton late of Boston Esq** Dec*? ag* William Eustace of Winnesimet 
in the Township of Boston, The third part of One Messuage, 
one barne, one stable, one Garden, one Orchard, and two hundred 
& one Acres & an halfe of Uplande Meadow with the Appur^^^ 
in Winnesimet in the Township of Boston afores*! as the Dower 
of the said Martha of the Endowing of s^ Richard her late 
husband by writ of Our Soveraigne Lord & Lady the King & 
Queen of Dower whereof she hath nothing, as p sumons dated 
20. November 1693. and declaration filed. This Action was Entred 
at December Court and continued by consent to this Court. The 
parties appeared by their Attorneys, The Defend^ by his Attorney 
saith, That the s^ Richard Wharton was never seized of the 
p^'misses in demand in such Estate as whereof the s^ Martha can 
be endowed The Sufii'ons, Declaration & Evidences in the Case 
produced were read & committed to the Jury ; The Jury returned 
their Verdict thereon, viz* They find for the pi* That she have 
her Dower viz* One third part of the farme according to Sumons 
& Declaration. Therefore it was considered by the Court, That 
the s^ Martha should Recover her Seisin vers, the afores^ William 
Eustace of the Third part of s*' farme w*'^ the appur^f^ & that the 
6^ William Eustace &c And on this the afores*? 

Martha prayes the Writ of our Lord & Lady the King & Queen to 
the Sherife of the County directed that she may have full seisin 
of s"^ Third part of s^ fFarme and its appurtenances set forth unto 
her to hold in severalty by metes & bounds.] 

» MSS. Rec. of Court of Common Pleas, 1692-1698, p. 55. 



VOL. I. — 31 



482 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XI 



APPENDIX 4 

[Belungham vs. Eustace * 

The Writ ^ 

"William the Third, by the Grace of God King of England, 
Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c. 
Province of the 

Massachusetts Bay ss: To Our Sheriff of Our 

(Seal) County of Suffolke or under Sheriff or Deputy, 
Greeting. 

Wee Command you to Attach the Goods or Estate of Sarah 
Eustace Relict widow of William Eustace late of Winnisimett 
within the s^ County dec^ to the Value of Five hundred pounds 
and for want thereof to take the Body of the said Sarah Eustace 
(if she may be found in your Precinct) and her safely keep, so 
that you have her before Our Justices, at Our next Superiour 
Court of Judicature ^ to be holden at Boston for Our said County, 
on the last Tuesday of April instant then and there to Answer to 
Samuel Bellingham Esq? or his Attourney in an Action of the 
Case for that the s^ Sarah Eustace doth refuse to deliver to the 
pi* a Certain Farme Viz* A Dwelling House and Upland & 
Meadow Scituate lying and being in Winnisimett afores^ in the 
County of Suffolke afores^ formerly knowne by the name of 
Richard Bellingham's Farme, and was the estate late belonging 
to s^ Richard Bellingham, Esq?* late Governo? of the Massachusetts 
Colony in New England; and now of right descended to the PI* 
only Son and heir of the s^ Richard Bellingham deceased; and 
afterwards in the possession of s^ pH by his Attourney ; The with- 
holding the possession of said Farme being to the PI*? damago 
Six hundred pounds in money. As shall then and there appear, 
with Damages : and have you there this Writt. Witness Thomas 

' See supra, pp. 464-470 and notes 9, 14, papers endorsed with the name 
of this suit. 

» Court Files, SuflFolk, No. 3558. Paper No. 1. Tlie original writ with 
the official endorsements thereon. 

• Note that this suit originated in the Superior Court, and did not 
come before it by appeal. 



Chap. XI] APPE^TDIX 4 4S3 

Danforth Esq. At Boston, this Thirteenth Day of April In the 
Xinth Year of Our Eeign Annoque Domini, 1697. 

Addington Davenport Cler 

(On the face of the "Writ, at the left side, the following is 
written, viz. : — ) 

The defend* pleads she holds possession as tenant unto majo'* 
Eoht Thompson purchased from mT Eich*^ Wharton co whom y^ 
premisses was granted in Execution for a just Debt, & recorded 
according to Law 

B : Bullivant Att pro defend**^ 
(On the back of the Writ is the following, viz. : — ) 
Suffolk ss " Boston Aprill 14 1697 

By Virtue of this precept to me Directed I haue attached The 
Body of the within mentioned Sarah Ewstice and taken Bond 

Sam'' Gookin Sherrife 

Know all Men by These presents that I Sarah Ewstice am 
firmly Bound to Saml' Cookin Sherrife of S*^ County In the Sum 
of flue hundred pounds On Condition that I y*^ S*^ Sarah Ewstice 
Doe Appear at the Next Supp : Court of Judicature to Be holden 
Bost In S*^ County on the Last Tuesd of this Instant April then 
and there to Answer to y^ within mentioned Sam'' Bellingham or 
his Lawfull attorney In an action of the Case, as May In the 
Witliin Mentioned precept More at Large appear As witness my 
hand. 

Sarah P Ewstice 
Herr Mark 

Power of Attorney * 



to 
Bellinarham 



_ ,,. , Whereas I Samuel Bellingham Esqr did Sometime 

^° ' since by writeing or Letter of Attorney under my 
hand and Seale make and appoint Nathaniel Newdi- 
gate of Boston in New-England Merchant my 
Attorney for me and in my name and to my use to Aske and 
receive of Eichard Smith, Jeremiah Belcher and Nicholas Eice ^ 
of Wynysimett in New-England, and all that owed me moneys 

* Mrs. Elizabeth Bellingham, whose arrival in >3'ow En<Tland was 
described supra, p. 470, note 15, did not place on record or produce in court 
the deeds of her marriage settlement vesting the title to tlie Bellingluim 
estates in trustees for her use (infra, pp. 502-509), but brouglit suit in 
her husband's name by virtue of this power of attorney. It is recorded 
in SufT. Deeds, L. 14, f. 266. See also a copy in SufF. Early Court Files, 
No. 3417. 

■* Nicholas Rice was the tenant preceding ^^'illiam Eustace. Supra, 
pp. 365, 439, 451. 



484 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XI 

from thorn for rent for Lands in Xcw England xVll Such SuiTis 
of money as are due to mee from them for rent or Arrears for 
Lands & hereditaments in Xew-England aforesaid, with divers 
powers and authorities therein menconed As by the said recited 
writeing or letter of xVttorney relac^Jn being thereunto had more 
fully may appeare. now I the said Samuel Bellingham for divers 
good causes and consideracons me moveing have revoked maid 
void and determined, And by these presents Do revoke, make 
void and determine the said recited writeing or Letter of Attorney 
and all the powers and authorities thereby given unto the said 
Natlianiel Newdigate, And all other Letters of Attorney powers 
and authorities by mee heretofore given to the said Nathaniel 
Newdigate or any other person concerning the premisses AxD 
PURTHER I the said Samuel Bellingham for divers good causes 
have made ordained and appointed And by these presents Doe 
make ordaine and appoint my dear and welbeloved wife Eliza- 
beth my true and la^vfull Attorney for me in my name and 
to my use to Aske demand sue for recover and receive, not only 
of and from the said Nathaniel Newdigate all Suiiis of money 
by him received or discharged by vertue of the said Letter of 
Attorney, or otherwise on my account; But also of the said 
Richard Smithy Jeremiah Belcher and Nicholas Rice their Exec- 
utors or Administrators and all other persons who stand indebted 
to me in any SuiTie or Sums of money debt or demand for rent or 
arrears of rent or otherwise in New-England All and every Sunie 
and Sum's of money debts and demands whatsoever due and oweing 
unto me for or on account of rent or arrears of rent for all or 
any the Messuages Lands Tenements or Hereditaments in New 
England which doe or at any time heretofore did belong unto 
or were held of me the s^ Samuel Bellingham, or on account of 
wast or want of repaires done or Sufferred on or about any the 
premisses and on every other account whatsoever And upon 
non payment thereof or any part thereof, for me and in my name 
to comenee, prosecute and carry on any acc-bn or accons suites, 
process or execucbn for and concerning the same as fully and 
effectually as I in my owne person might or could doe. And upon 
receipt thereof or any part thereof Acquittances or other Sufficient 
Discharges for me and in my name to make and execute And 
Attorneys one or more under my said Attorney to make and sub- 
stitute And againe at her will and pleasure to revoke. And 
generally to doe perfonne and execute all and every such Act 
and Acts thing and things for obtaining and recovering the 
premisses as I in my owne person might or could doe and that 
as fully and effectually to all intents and purposes Ratifying and 



Chap. XI] ' APrENDIX 4 485 

allowing for fimie and effectual all and whatsoever my Said 
Attorney shall lawfully doe or cause to be done by vertue of these 
presents . In witnesse whereof the said Samuel Bellingham hath 
hereunto sett his hand and scale the Eleventh day of May Anno 
Dm lOnG And in the Eighth year of the Reigne of Our Sov- 
eraigne Lord King William the third over England &c?^ 
Signed Sealed and Delivered ^— ^ 

being First Stamped with the Samuel Bellingham f^sealj 

Six penny Stamp in the ^ — ^ 

presence of Bcnj : W'oodbridge 
Jn^ Hunkin, John Broccass, 
Catherine Broccass 

Memorand. That on the 27*11 ^^^y ^f j^^^y. Annoq Dom. 1696 
[1697] mi" Benj : Woodbridge & John Broccass two of the Wit- 
nesses Subscribed to this Instrument appeared before me the 
Subscriber one of his Majesties Council of the Province of the 
Massachusetts Bay in New-England & Justice of Peace within 
the same & made Oath that they Saw Samuel Bellingham Esq? 
Signe Seal & Deliver the abovewritten Instrum* as his Act & 
Deed. Nathaniel Thomas. 

Entred & Recorded February 6^^ . 1696/7 

The Court's Judgment ° 
Suffolke ss. 

At his Ma*'^^ Superiour Court of Judicature, Court of Assize 
and General Goale Delivery holden at Boston for the County afore- 
said on the last Tuesday in April 1697 being the 27*'^ day of s? 
month. Before the Hon^'^ Thomas Danforth. Wait Winthrop. 
Elisha Cooke, Samuel Sewall Esq""? Justices. . . . Samuel Belling- 
ham Esq^ pi* Vers Sarah Eustace Eelict widow of William 
Eustace late of Winnisimett within the County of Suffolke — dec*? 
Def* — Jn an Action of the Case for that the s^ Sarah Eustace 
doth refuse to deliver to the pi* a Certaine ffarme, Viz* a Dwelling 
House, and Upland and Meadow, Scituate lying and being in 
Winnisimett afores^ in the County of Suffolke afores^ formerly 
knowne by the name of Richard Bellinghams ffarme, and was the 
estate late belonging to s^ Richard Bellingham Esq^" late Gov- 
ernor of the Massachusetts Colony in New England, and now of 
right descended to the pi* only Son and heir of the s^ Richard 
Bellingham deceas^ and afterwards in the possession of the pi* 
by his Attourney ; The withholding the possession of s^ ffarme 
being to the pl*^ damage Six hundred pounds in money. 

• MSS. Rec. of the Superior Court of Judicature, ii. 108. 



486 HISTORY OF CHELSEA ' [Chap. XI 

The Defend^ appeared by Benjamin Bullivant her Attourney 
and pleads she holds possession as Tenant unto Maji" Eobert 
Thompson purchaser from j\lv Richard Wharton to whome the 
premises was granted in p]xecution for a just Debt and Recorded 
according to Law. The Writ Def^? plea, Evidences and allegations 
on both sides being fully heard, The Case was committed to the 
Jury, who were Sworne according to Law: to try y^ same and 
Returned their Verdict therein upon Oath; That is to say They 
find for the pi* The House and Land sued for, and Costs of Court. 
Jts therefore considered by the Court That the s^ Samuel Belling- 
ham shall , recover against the s? Sarah Eustace the House and 
Land sued for, and Costs of Court taxed at Eour pounds Nine 
shillings l^t Jury ^ 

(In the margin of record is the following:) ffacias habere posses- 
sionem issued May 7t^ 1697. 

The Writ of Execution ^ 

William the Third by the Grace of God King of England Scot- 
land France and Ireland Defender of the Faith &c. 
Province of the To Our Sheriffe of Our County of'Suf- 

Massachusetts Bay ss: folke or his Deputy or under Sheriffe 
(Seal) Greeting. 

Whereas Samuel Bellingham Esq? by his Attourney before Our 
Justices of Our Superiour Court of Judicature held at Boston 
within Our s? County upon the last Tuesday in April last past 
by the consideration of Our said Court recovered his Terme yet 
to come of and in a Certain Farme, Viz* A Dwelling House and 
Upland and Meadow Scituate lying and being in Winnisimett 
in the County of Suffolke afores*? formerly knowne by the name 
of Richard Bellingliams Farme, against Sarah Eustace relict 
widow of William Eustace late of Winnisiinett afores*? dec^, who 
had unjustly put out and amoved the s*? Samuel Bellingham from 
his possession thereof, And also there recovered Four pounds Nine 
shillings for costs and damages which he has sustained by reason 
of the s*? Offence and Ejectment, and expended for the removal 
thereof, as to Us has been made to appear of Record 

Wee Command You therefore That without delay you cause 
the s? Samuel Billingham by his Attourney of and in the afores? 

' Tlie 1st Jury of Trials: Joseph Eliot forem., Walter Hiingerford, 
John Miles, John Eustace, Joseph Pierce, Nathaniel Clap, John Smith, 
Samuel Culliver, Jacob Pepper, Jacob Newhall, Jacob Nash, John Baker. 

* Court Eiles, Suffolk, No. 3558. Paper No. 2. The original writ with 
official endorsements. 



Chap. XI] APPENDIX 4 487 

Farme Viz* a Dwelling House Upland and Meadow with the 
Apurtenances Seituate lying & being in ^Yinnisiili'ett afores*^ to 
have possession of his Terme 3'et to come. Wee also Command 
You That of the Goods Chattells or Lands of the s^' Sarah Eustace 
within your Precinct at the value thereof in money, You cause the 
s^ Samuel Bellingham by his Attourney to be paid and satisfyed 
the Sum of Four pounds Nine shillings, which to the s^ Samuel 
Bellingham in the said Court was adjudged for his Costs and 
damages with Two shillings more for this Writ; and thereof 
also to satisfy yourself for your own Fees. And for want of such 
Goods Chattells or Land of the s^ Sarah Eustace to be by her 
showne unto You, or found within yoF precinct to satisfy the 
a forest Sume ; Wee then Command You to take the Body of the 
s^ Sarah Eustace and her Commit unto the Keeper of His Majt''^s 
Goal in Boston within the s^J Prison, whome Wee likewise Com- 
mand to receive her the s? Sarah Eustace, and her safely to keep 
until she pay unto the s? Samuel Bellingham the full Sum above- 
mentioned, or to his Attourney, and be by her released, and also 
satisfy your Fees. And This Writ with your doings therein You 
are to Eetum unto Our s? Superiour Court of Judicature to be 
holden at Boston upon the last Tuesday in October next. 

W^itness Thomas Danforth Esq?" in Boston the Seventh day of 
May 1697 . In the Ninth Year of Our Eeigne. 

Addington Davenport Cler 

May 8. 1697 

Suffolke ss. In Obseruance of this his Maj<^'^^ Writt of Habere 
facias Possessionem I haue Leuied the Same upon a Certain 
Farme (Vizt) a Dwelling House, and Upland, and Medow, 
Seituate Standing & Being in Wenesimitt in the town Shipp of 
Boston in the County afore S^ formerly Known by the Name of 
Eichard Bellingham^ Farme, and I haue Deliuored the Same to 
m''? Elizabeth Bellingham attorney to y® Within mentioned Samuel 
Bellingham Esq"" I haue also Leuied upon the Mony of the w^'^in 
mentiond Sarah Eustace y^ Sum of four pounds Nine Shillings 
with two Shilling more for this writt I haue also Leuied for my 
fees fiue pound mony of Estate of y^ S^ Sarah Eustice 

Sam!' Gookiu Sh^m 



488 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XI 

The Bill of Costs " 

Supr Court held at Boston Ap: 27th 1697. 
Samll Bellinghame Esqr Pit his bill of Costs agt Sarah Eustice 

£ s d 

for the writt and Serveing att Winnisimit 0-5-0 

Attornyes fee 0-12-0 

for Coppies of records 1-0-0 

Entering the action 0-12-0 

Supoena for two wittnesses and their attendance 4 dayes . . . 0-16-6 

To the Jury 0-13-6 

Pits Attendance at Court 4 dayes 0-6-0 

fileing papers 0-3.0 

Taxing Costs 0- 1-0 

4 . 09 . 00 
Examd per Ad: Davenport Cler. 
Allowed 

T. D.^°] 

' Ibid., Paper No. 3 ; autograph endorsements. 
^" Thomas Danforth, one of the judges at that terra of court. 



CiiAP. XII APPENDIX 5 489 



APPENDIX 5 

[Thomson vs. Eustace. 1699 

Court Record^ 

Suffolk ss : Anno WR? Guilielmi Tertii nunc Angliae &^* Un- 
decimo. At an Inferiour Court of Common Pleas holden at 
Boston for the County aforesaid on the first Tuesday of January 
being the Second day of s*? Month; Annoq : Domini lGi)9 [ITOO]. 
Before the Hono^l'^ Elisha Hutchinson, Isaac Addington, John 
Foster, Peter Sergeant Esql'^ Justices. . . . Joseph Thomson of 
London, Merch* Exec"" of the last Will & Testament of his late 
Father Eobert Thomson Deced — PI* v Sarah Eustace, Widow, 
Edict of William Eustace late of Winnisimmet within y^ County 
of Suffolk deced — Def* Jn an Action of Trespass upon the Case 
acording to Writt, bearing date y^ 14*^ of Decembv 1699. The 
PF not appearing by himself or Attorney, is Non-suit. & Costs 
allowed to y^ Def* 

Thomson vs. Eustace. 1700^ 

The Writ ^ 

William the Third, by the Grace of God of England, Scotland, 
France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. 

' Records of Suff. Court of Common Pleas, 1G09-1701, p. 20. 

' Tlie following papers are filed with the two papers i^iven here, in 
Court Files, Suffolk. No. 4039. ( 1 ) Paper No. 3. Copy of court record, 
July 31, 1083, in the case of Richard Wharton vs. the estate of Samuel 
Bellinghani, given supra, p. 408. (2) Paper No. 1. Copy of the writ of 
execution in the same case with the endorsements thereon, given supra, 
p. 469. Tills is an attested copy by Addington Davenjiort of the copy 
attested by Joseph Webb. ( 3 ) Paper No. 0. Deed from Richard Wharton 
to Edward Tliomas as agent for Robert Thompson of London. Supra, 
p. 470. (4). Paper No. 4. Copy of Letters of Administration issued by 
the Prerogative Court of Canterbury under the signature of Tlio: Wel- 
ham, Deputy Registrar, and the seal of the Court December 0, 1094, to 
Joseph Thompson, son and sole executor named in the last will and testa- 
ment of Robert Thomson of Stoke Newington, Middlesex. England. This 
is a copy, attested by Addington Davenport, Clerk of Court, of a copy 
attested by the signature and seal of William Scorey, Notary Public in 
London. Both the document and the attestations are in Latin. 

' Court Files, Suffolk. No. 4039. Paper No. 2. The original writ with 
official endorsements. Endorsed : " Thomson Eustice." 



490 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [C:iap. XI 

Suffolk ss. To the Sheriff of our County of Suffolk, or under 

seal Sheriff, or Deputy, Greeting 

Wee Command you to Attach the Goods or Estate of Sarah 
Eustace Widow Eelict of William Eustace late of Winnsemett 
within the County afores*^ deceas^ to the Value of five hundred 
Pounds, and for want thereof to take the Body of the said Sarah 
Eustace (if shee may be found in your Precinct) and her safely 
keep, so that you have her before Our Justices, at Our next In- 
feriour Court of Common Pleas, to be holden at Boston for Our 
said County of Suffolk on the First Tuesday of Aprill next, then 
and there to Answer to Joseph Thomson of London Mercht Exec- 
utor of the Last Will and Testamt of his late father Robert Thom- 
son deceas^ Or to his Attorney, in an Action of Trespass upon the 
Case for withholding and refusing to render to the Pl^ possession 
of A Certain farme or Tract of Land Scittuate lyeing and being 
at Winnisemett within the Limits or precincts of the Towne 
of Boston late in the Tenure & Occupacon of William Eustace 
afores** deceas'J Comonly called by the Name of the Little Farrae 
measuring two hundred Acres more or less of Upland and Meadow 
according as the Same was fenced and Inclosed from the farms 
and Lands in the Occupaton and Improvment of L* John Smith, 
Jeremiah Belcher & Ja : Townsend being all formerly the farms 
& Lands of Rich? Bellingham Esq^' deceas? & as this hath for 
many years past been held & Occupyed by the s? William Eustace, 
the Sea or Creek being the boundary thereof on the South Easterly 
Side, Together with all Housing Barns Stables Edifices building 
fences trees Timbers Woods Underwood & Stones lyeing Standing 
or growing upon the s*^ Farm & on any part thereof; And One 
Acre and half of Land more or less where the Clay pits are In- 
closed between s*^ farme and L* Smiths Corn field. All w^^ s<^ 
Premises were bargained & Sold by Richard Wharton late of 
Boston afores^ Merch* Unto Edward Thomas Agent for the s^ 
Robert Thomson to and for the Use of the s^ Robert Thomson his 
heirs & Assignes for Ever for the Valuable Consideraton of three 
hundred pounds Curr* money of New England, As in And by A 
Deed of Sale under the hand & Seal of s^ Richard Wharton dated 
the fifteenth day of March 1685/6 here in Court produced, may 
appear . And which of Right belong unto the PI* Executor as 
afores*? Nevertheless the s^ Sarah Eustace withholdeth & refuseth 
to render to the Pl^ possession of the Same (tho' often demanded 
of her.) 

The Deft pleads Shee holds the Land Sued for as Tenn* under 
the Executors of Eliza : — Bellingham & therefore is not Guilty 
of the Trespasse as set forth in the Writt. 



Chap. XI] APPENDIX 5 491 

Which is to the damage of the said Joseph Thomson Exec*"^ as 
aforesaid PI* the Sum of five hundred Pounds, As shall then and 
there appear, with other due Damages : and have you there this 
Writt, with your doings therein. Witness Elisha Hutchinson, Esq. 
At Boston this fifth Day of March In the Twelfth Year of Our 
Koign, Annoque Domini ^f§§ 

Addington Davenport Cler. 
Sufolke ss March, 21 : 'lU 

I haue Attached y^ Body of the w^^in mentioned Sarah Eustice 
and haue taken Bond 

Sam^' Gookin Sherrife 

Know All Men by these presents that I the w^^in mentioned 
Sarah Eustice Am firmly Bound to Sam'' Gookin Sherrife of Said 
County In the full Sum of fine hundred pounds mony On Condi- 
tion that I the Said Eustice doe appear at y*^ next Inferiour Court 
of Comon Pleas to be holden at Boston for s? County on the First 
Tuesday in Aprill next then And there to Answer to the w^^'^in 
Mentioned Joseph Thompson In an Action of trespass As May in 
the within written precept Now at Large Appear and not Depart 

without License from s^ Court 

Her 

Sarah ^ Eustice 

Mark 

Power of Attorney Joseph Thompson to Thomas Banister * 

(Loc Sigil) 

By this Publique Instrument of Procuration, or Letter of 
Attorney. Be it known & manifest unto all People , That on y^ 
Eleventh day of July Anno Domini 1698 & in y^ Tenth year of y^ 
Ecign of William y^ Third, King of England &c before me Wil- 
liam Scorey, Notary Publique, admitted & Sworn, Dwelling in 
London & in y® Presence of y® Witnesses after Named Per- 
sonally appeared M'' Joseph Thompson of London afores^ Mer- 
cliant which Appearer In his own Particular name. & as he is 
Exccutr of ye last will & Testament of his Late Father Eob* 
Thompson dec^ ( in y® first place ratifying & approving y^ Procu- 
ration or Letter of Attorney by him given to Thomas Banister of 
Boston in New-England, Merch* passed before me Notary, on or 
about y^ Thirtyeth Day of July Anno 1697, and all matters and 

* SufT. Early Court Files. No. 4039. Paper No. 5. 



492 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Cuap. XI 

tilings which y^ said M"" Banister hath done, or shall do, or cause 
to be done by vertue of y^ Same) Doth by these Pref,ents also 
Nominate, Constitute and appoint y*^ Said Thomas Bannister to 
be his True & Lawfull Attorney, Giveing unto him full Power 
and Authority to demand recover, receive & take Possession (either 
amicably or by due order & Course of Law) Of any Lands Tencmt^ 
Hereditam*.* or other Estate whatsoevf appertaining to the Said 
Constituant in New-England aforesaid, either in his own right; 
or as he is Execute as afores^ of the last Will of his said dec^ 
Father Eobert Thomson, & having so Taken Possession of y*^ Same 
the [re] with to do, & thereof to dispose according to y*' orders & 
directions of the said Constituant, upon y^ recov'rys & Eeceipts 
to make & give due and sufficient acquittances & discharges. Giv- 
ing, & by these presents granting to his said Attorney his full 
& whole Power & Authority in y*^ Premises (as well Judicial as 
Extrajudicial) to do, say, Transact, & accomplish w^soever the 
said Constituant himself might or could do Personally. He hereby 
promising to hold & ratify & for Good & valid whatsoev^'' his said 
Attorney shall Lawfully do, or cause to be done by Virtue of these 
presents. In Witness whereof the said Constituant hath hereunto 
put his hand & Seal y^ day And year first above Written in y® 
presence of Jn^ Ruck & Jeremiah Colborne Witnesses Jn*' Ruck, 
Jer : Colborne, Joseph Thomson & Sigil 

In Testimonium Veritatis 
(Loc Sigil.) Guil : Scorey . Not'"? Pub"? 

1698 
Also Sealed & del*^ by y® said Joseph Thompson in y^ Presence 
of us Deodat Lawson 

John Foye 

Suffolk ss. 

Cap* John Foye Personally appearing made Oath, That he 
was present, & did See the above named Joseph Thomson Seal 
& deliver the above written Instrument as his Act & Deed, & that 
he Subscribed his name as a Witness thereunto. 

Jurata Coram 

Jer . Dumer Just. Pac : 
Boston April 4*^ 1699. 

A true Copy, as appears of File. 

Exam^ Per Addington Davenport Cler.'* 

' Endorsed : " Jos : Thompson's Lt of Attorney to Tho : Banister. 
Copia." 



Chap. XI] APPENDIX 5 493 

Judgment in the Court of Common Pleas ® 
Suffolk ss. 

At an Inferiour Court of Coiuon Pleas holden at Boston for y® 
County afores^ on y® first Tuesday of April 1700. Present Elisha 
Hutchinson, John Foster, Isaac Addington, Peter Sergent Esqr^ 
Justices . . . Joseph Thompson of London Merch* Execute of the 
last Will and Testament of his late father Eobert Thomson dece^ 

P't u Sarah Eustace widow relict of William Eustace late 

of Winnisimet witliin the County of Suffolke dece? — Def^ In 
an Action of Tresspass upon the Case for withholding & refusing 
to render to the p'^ possession of a Certain ffarme or Tract of Land 
Scituato lying and being at Winnisiinet within the Limits or pre- 
cincts of the Towne of Boston late in the Tenure & Occupation of 
AVilliam Eustace afores? dece*^ commonly called by the name of 
the little Farme ; Bounded and Measuring as in the Writ is more 
at large set forth; & all housing Barns Treis k^^ lying standing or 
growing upon the same; And One Acre and halfe of Land more 
or less where the Clay Pits are inclosed between s*^ ffarme and L*. 
Smiths Cornfield; all which s*? premises were bargained and sold 
by Richard Wharton late of Boston afores^ Mercht unto Edward 
Thomas Agent for the s*^. Eobert Thompson to and for the Use of 
the s^ Eobert Thompson his heires and Assignes for ever for the 
valuable consideration of Three hundred pounds currant money of 
New England; as in and by a Deed of Sale under the hand and 
Seal of s? Eichard Wharton dated y® fifteenth day of ]\Iarch 
1685/6, in Court produced may appear, and which of right belong 
unto the P'* Executv as afores"? ; Nevertheless the s? Sarah Eustace 
withholdeth and refuseth to render to the p'* possession of the same 
(tho often demanded of her) to his damage as he saith ffive hun- 
dred pounds. The Defend* appears by Joseph Hearne her At- 
tourney ; and pleads she holds the Land Sued for as Tenant under 
the ExecF^ of Elizabeth Bellingham ; ^ and therefore is not Guilty 
of the Trespass as set forth in the Writ ; LTpon which issue being 
joATied, the Case after a full hearing was committed to the Jury 
who were Swome according to Law to tr\^ the same ; and returned 
their Verdict therein upon Oath ; that is to say ; They find for 
the Defendant Costs of Suit ; Jt 's therefore Considered by the 
Court that the s^ Sarah Eustace shall recover of the s*? Joseph 
Thompson Costs of Suit. The p^t by Thomas Banister his Attour- 
ney appealed from this Judgment unto the next Superiour Court 

» Court Records, 1099-1701, p. .33. 

' For the death of Elizabeth Bellingham, see infra, p. 498 ; for lier will, 
see infra, p. 509. 



494 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XI 

.of Judicature to be holden for this County; & entred into Recog- 
nizance with Suretys as the Law directs for prosecuting his Appeal 
with effect. 2 Jury.^ 

Judgment in the Superiour Court of Judicature " 

Suffolk ss. 

At his Majcstys Superiour Court of Judicature Court of Assize 
and Generale Goale Delivery held at Boston for the County of 
Suffolke on the first Tuesday in May 1700 being the 7*^ day of 
s? month. Present the Hon^'? W°^ Stoughton, Waitt Winthrop, 
Elisha Cooke, and Samuel Sewall EsqV^ Justices . . . Joseph 
Thompson of London Merch* Executor of the last Will and Testa- 
ment of his late Father Robert Thompson deed Appl* Against 
Sarah Eustace Widdow Eelict of William Eustace late of Winnisim- 
met within the County of Suffolke deced — Defend* — From the 
Judgm* of an Inferiour Court of Common Pleas holden at Boston 
on the first Tuesday of April last past ; Jn an Action of Tresspass 
upon the Case then and there commenced and prosecuted by the 
s^ Joseph Thompson against the s*^ Sarah Eustace for withholding 
from y^ Pl^ the possession of a certain ffarme or Tract of land ^^ 
... to his damage (as he saith) five hundred pounds. At which 
s<^ Court Judgment was rendered for y^ Defend for Costs of Suit. 
Both parties now appeared by their Attorneys. The Writ, Infe- 
riour Courts Judgmt Reasons of Appeal, Pleas Evidences Deeds 
and allegations on both sides being fully heard the whole was com- 
mitted to the Jury, who were Sworne to try the same, and Returned 
their Verdict therein upon Oath that is to say. They find for the 
Apl* a Reversion of the former Judgm* the house & Land Sued 
for and Costs of Courts. Its therefore Considered by the Court 
that the s<^ Joseph Thompson Executor as a fores'^ shall recover 
of the s<^ Sarah Eustace the house and Land Sued for and Costs 
of Courts, taxed at Six pounds four Shillings and ten pence. 

2*i Jury." 
(In the margin of record:) Execution Jssued out May . 13. 
1700 .] 

* The second jury of trials: William Welsteed, Jr., Foreman, Francis 
Clarke, Samuel Wentworth, Thomas Vering, James Pierpont, John Battle, 
Samuel Bacon, John Ruggles, Samuel Wliitmarsh, Mathew Cushing, Joshua 
Hearsey, George Humphrys. 
" Court Records, iii. 6. 

'" Recites verbatim the record in the lower court. 

" The second jury of trials: David Jeffrys, Foreman, John Mico, Thomas 
Hutchinson, William Harris, Elisha Bullen, Joshuah Sever, Samuel Rob- 
binson, James Tucker, Jonathan Padlefoot, Thomas Thaxter, Samuel Guild. 



Chap. XII] BELLIISTGHAM'S ESTATE BY DESCENT 495 



CHAPTER XII 

GOVEKNOK BELLINGIIAm's ESTATE BY DESCENT 

THE last chapter closed for the present the history of the 
litigation over Governor Bellingham's will, and we now 
trace the title of his estate at Winnisimmet by descent or 
conveyance. When the Governor's will was set aside in 1676, 
his estates descended to Dr. Samuel Bellingham, his son and 
only heir, subject to the widow's dower, but under the cloud 
raised by James Allen and others, trustees, still claiming 
under the will. As Samuel Bellingham was living abroad, 
the property, after Richard Wharton's death in London May 
14, 1689, fell into disorder, as appears from the petition of 
the Governor's widow : ^ 

To his Exceleney the Gov"*, Councill & Representatiues as- 
sembled in Gen'i Court, Nou. 8. 1693. 

The Petition of Penelope Bellingham Kelict of Richard Belling- 
ham, Escf late of Boston Deceased 
Humbly sheweth : 

That wheras the said Eichd Bellingham being seized in ffee 
simple of sundry lands & Tenements sittuate lying & being within 
the Township of Boston to wit : four ffarmes at Winnesimett 
besides his house and Lands in Boston Died Intestate whereby the 
same Descended to his only son Samuel Bellingham Esq"" who then 
was & still is in Holland or in the Parts beyond the Seas, sence 
which time Part of the said Lands hath been in the oenpation of 
your Petitioner as her Dower, & other Part of the said Lands viz 
three of the said ffarmes hath been in the Managment of M"" 
Ivichard Wharton as his the s^ Samuell Bellingham atturney who 

' Mass. Archives, xvi. 492. [Feb. 10, 1680/90, Samuel Sewall wrote 
Mr. Mather in England: "Madam Bellingham desired me to entreat 
your enquiry after Mr. Samuel Bellingham in Germany, and give him 
notice, that Mr. Wharton being dead, twill be necessary to constitute 
another Attorney to look after his Concerns here, which will otherwise ly 
at sixes and sevens, and several years Rent being behind, much of it will 
be in danger to be lost: Best to make the Letter of Attorney to two 
persons. . . ." (Sewall's Letter- Book in 6 Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., i. 99.] 



496 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XII 

is also deceased soe that there is Now noe p^'son in New England 
nearrer' Eelatcd to the said Samuel Bellingham then your Peti- 
tioner & the said Samuel Bellingham being not only beyond the 
seas but also much Indisposed for the managment of his Estate. 
The said fl'armes going to Decay & in danger in short time to be 
lost & the said Samuell Bellingham & his heires Disinherited of 
them 

Your Petitioner therefore Humbly Prays That by an act of this 
Great & Gen'' Court the said Lands may be put into the hands 
or Mangmcnt of your Petitioner for the use of the said Bellingham. 
And she enabled to Eecouer & Eeceiue the Rents — Putt the farmes 
into Eepair & preserue them for the said Samuel Bellingham or 
his heires, vntill he or they shall Come or send And to be account- 
able to the said Samuel Bellingham his heires or assignes Touch- 
ing her Managment of the same 

And your Petitionr shall euer Pray as in Duty &c 
[Endorsed on lower left hand corner:] Penelope Belingham. 

Eead 24? Novr. 

[Endorsed on the back:] Eead first time 27*11 of Nov'"' 1693 . 
Eead 2 time 28. 

I find no action on this petition. 

The Bellingham Estates in the English Court of 
Chancery 

Between Penelope Bellingham's petition in 1693 and December, 
1701, circumstances transferred the affairs of the Bellingham 
estates from the General Court in Boston, to the High Court of 
Chancery in London. The circumstances were these: Samuel 
Bellingham, then residing in London and contemplating marriage 
with Elizabeth Savage, a London widow, conformably to Articles 
of Agreement March 30, 1695,- made a marriage settlement with 
her,-^ dated April 16, 1695, by which "in Consideration of the 
said Intended Marraige and for a Competent & Sufficient Main- 
tai nance for the said Elizabeth," all his New England estates 
were conveyed to Edward Hull and John Shelton in trust for 

= Recorded April 10, 1701, "with SuflF. Deeds, L. 20, f. 237. 

^ Recorded May 13. 1702. Ibid., L. 21, f. 18. Among the American 
witnesses to the execution of this instrument in London were Benjamin 
Lynde, then a student of law in the Temple, afterwards Chief Justice of 
Massachusetts; J. Winthrop; and Jahleel Brenton, a name famous in 
Colonial and English naval history. "Gleaner" says: — "This I sup- 
pose to be one of the most venerable marriage settlements on our records." 
(Boston Rec. Com. Rep., v. 85.) 



Chap. XII] BELLINGHAJM'S ESTATE BY DESCENT 497 

Samuel Bellingham and his heirs until the marriage, and there- 
al'ttT in trust for such persons and their heirs and for such estates, 
as the said Elizabeth, whether sole or married, with or without 
the consent of her husband, should by any writing, or by her last 
will in writing, at any time direct, limit or appoint; and in the 
absence of such will or writing, then in trust for her sole and 
separate benefit, her heirs and assigns without any control of Sam- 
uel Bellingham.* The estates Samuel Bellingham settled upon his 
wife, which soon after her death passed to her family to the 
exclusion of his only daughter,^ were among the most valuable in 
Massachusetts.*' 

* Samuel Bellingham, May 11, 1696, revoking the power to Nathaniel 
Newdigate, gave one to his wife to collect from Richard Smith, Jeremiali 
Belcher, and Nicholas Rice, tenants of the Winnisimmet farms, the rents 
accrued before the marriage settlement. [It was a full power of attorney 
as to his New England estates that Samuel Bellingham gave his wife. It 
enabled her to bring suit in his name in the courts, iiupra. p. 483.] A mem- 
orandum dated December I, 1G96 {infra, p. 507), records that Joseph Hiller, 
attorney of Samuel Bellingham, entered upon the Smith farm (near the 
ferry in Winnisimmet) and in the mansion house thereof gave possession 
of all the estates mentioned in the marriage settlement, to Newdigate as 
attorney of Hull and Shelton, trustees. [Mrs. Elizabeth Bellingham was 
present and also, the memorandum stated, received possession.] Also 
Jeremiah Belcher and Sarah his wife and John Center, [who] held the 
[farm later known as the) Carter farm by lease from Richard Bellingham 
for the lives of Sarah Belcher and John Center at the annual rent of £10, 
[consented to] attorn to [Hull and Shelton feoffees of Dr. Samuel Belling- 
ham in trust for Mrs.] Elizabeth Bellingham. Some difliculty arose at a 
later date, from a failure to record the trust deeds, as appears from the 
deposition of Nathaniel Newdigate, infra, p. 511; also pp. 515, 521. 

' [See infra, p. 499, note 18, mention of an agreement between Edward 
and Rebecca Watts and Dr. Samuel Bellingham in the interest of his 
daughter Elizabeth.] 

" They included the greater part of the present city of Chelsea; eight 
hundred acres " near the great Pond of Enon," the pond between Andover, 
Salem, and Rowley (now Wenham Lake [see infra, p. 504, note 5]) ; two 
acres on Boston neck " Adjoining to Angeloes house " ; a " parcel of Land 
being a side of a hill and adjoining to a hill formerly belonging to Mr. Cot- 
ton "; marshland adjoining the lands late of James Everill [ibid., note 6]; 
and the homestead of Governor Bellingham near the Cotton estate; to- 
gether with all other estates, ferries, and land in or near Boston belong- 
ing to the late governor, subject however to whatever might be the life 
interest of Madam Penelope Bellingliam, the governor's widow, in the 
Townscnd, or Car}% farm, and in her Boston residence, for the title to 
which in Samuel Sewall, see his Diary, i. 60. [Title to the mansion 
house of Governor Bellingham, in which his widow lived until her death, 
was conveyed to Joseph Hiller by Edward and Rebecca Watts and Eliza- 
beth Bellingham in 1709. ( Suff.* Deeds, L. 25. f. 1.30.) The house was on 
" the great Street leading from the Town Dock towards the Old Meeting 
bouse " (Boston Rec. Com. Rep., xxi.x. 184), that is, on Washington Street 
VOL. I. — 32 



498 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XII 

Elizabeth Bcllingham, a capable business woman, came to Bos- 
ton in IGUG, to look after her property." She was in Boston about 
a year. Sewall, May 16th, 1698, records her fate : " Updike arrived 
a little before at Marblehead, and brings the news of the Joseph 
Gaily being cast away on the coast of Ireland and all the persons 
in her lost. Madam Bcllingham one : Sail'd from hence the 8th 
of jSTovember," ® 

Before sailing for England she made her will, found in the 
appendix." Sometime after her death controversy arose both in 
respect to the will and the trust deed to Hull and Shelton. Was 
the will, being that of a married woman, valid as the law then 
stood; and if not, could it take effect as an appointment in writing 
to carry the estates agreeably to the marriage settlement? And 
as to the deed, — did the trusts terminate on the solemnization of 
the marriage,^" or follow the property to secure the rights of the 
children of Edward Watts, residuary devisees and minors ? For 
if the will as such, or as an appointment in writing, was invalid, 
and th« trusts ceased with the marriage, then Edward Watts and 
his wife Eebecca, sister and sole heiress of Elizabeth Bcllingham, 
took the estates in fee. Otherwise Edward Watts and his wife's 
interests in them were subject to the trusts and the equitable 
rights of their minor children. As this cloud upon their title 
interfered with the sale of the property and the collection of the 
rents, Edward and Eebecca Watts at the Trinity Term 1700, 
sought relief in the Court of Chancery by a Bill against Hull and 
Shelton, the trustees, the nature of which appears in the decree, 
December 6, 1701, by Sir Nathan Wright, Lord Keeper, declaring 
tlie will void, discharging the trustees from further trust, and order- 
ing them to convey the Bcllingham estates to the complainants, 
who were to be accounted with for the mesne rents and profits.^^ 

near Cornhill. The land which Sewall purchased was the half acre of land 
mentioned above on " Cotton " Hill ; there was no house on the land. 
Sewall's Letter- Book in G Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc., i. 158-160; Suff. Deeds, 
L. 14, ff. 439-443; L. 21, ff. 110-112; " Gleaner " in Boston Rec. Com. Rep., 
V. 84-94.] His [Governor Bellingham's] estates, [personal and real], were 
appraised at £3,244-3-7, and the Winnisimmet farms at £1,920. [The 
Rice or Eustace farm, valued in the inventory at £320, had been assigned to 
Richard Wharton in 1683 in settlement of his accounts, as evidenced in 
the previous chapter.] 

' She dined with Sewall November 20, 1696, and a month later, having 
looked into her affairs a little, gave him the " upbraiding " in relation to 
Wharton's judgment for the Eustace farm, noticed above. Supra, p. 470. 

' Sewall, Diary, i. 479. 

' Infra, p. 509. 

^" [See the deed, infra, p. 505.] 

^' For the decree, see infra, p. 513. 



Cii.vr. XII] BELLINGHAM'S ESTATE BY DESCENT 499 

This would seem to have ended all controversy between the 
parties ; but it was otherwise for reasons not now apparent, unless 
in the suggestion that the ^proceedings before Sir Nathan Wright 
were collusive.^- But whatever the reasons may have been (aside 
from those assigned in their bill below) Edward and Eebecca 
"Watts brought a new bill against Hull and Shelton/^ on which 
they obtained the opinion of William Cowper afterwards Lord 
Chancellor, and of John Danyell a counsellor of note, dated respec- 
tively May 9 and June 17, 1703, which with the case will be found 
in the appendix.^* The result of these proceedings I am unable to 
state; but a few months later, September 5th, the trustees con- 
veyed the Bellingham estates to Edward and Eebecca Watts agree- 
ably to the marriage settlement of April 16, 1695.^^ Samuel 
Bellingham died in 1700 ^^ before the determination of the 
proceedings. 

Notwithstanding the opinions of Cowper and Danyell given in 
the summer of 1703 Hull and Shelton, trustee, September 5th 
of the same year, as has been said, conveyed the estates to Edward 
and Eebecca Watts, but to the same uses and trusts as are set 
forth in the marriage settlement.^'^ The result, quite likely con- 
'trary to the intentions of the parties, was, that Samuel Bellingham 
gave the whole estate to the sister of his wife, excluding himself 
and his daughter.^* 

" [Infra, note 18.] 

" [Apparently another suit was not brouglit against Hull and Shel- 
ton ; the opinions of Cowper and Danyell were unfavorable. Infra, 
note 18.] 

'* Every document in this case, except a copy of the final decree of the 
Lord Keeper, lies buried two centuries deep among the rolls of the Court of 
Chancery; but some facts appear by way of recital in a case stated for the 
opinions of William Cowper and Counsellor Danyell, which with other 
interesting pajiers were brouglit to Boston by Edward Watts about 1710, 
and are now" in my possession. The case and the opinions are not easily 
summarized nor elsewhere found ; and as one of the counsel was of great 
distinction, and the papers themselves, if not unique, are at least very 
rare in early jNIassachusstts proceedings, I give them in full. Infra, p. 517. 

" See the deed, infra, p. 521. 

" In a letter dated Xr. 2G, 1700, to Nathanael Higginson, Samuel 
Sewall writes, " I would only hint, that it is not unlikely but that Win- 
isimet may come to be sold, which is a very pleasant and profitable Situa- 
tion. Mr. Jno. Ive or Mr. Wharton may shew you ]\Iadam Elsa. 
Bellingham, the Heir." Letter-Book, in G Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc, i. 249. 

" See the deed, infra, p. 521. 

^* [April 25, 1699, Samuel Bellingham and his daughter Elizabeth 
signed an agreement with Edward and Rebecca Watts. Tliis document 
has not been found; but among its provisions was one by which a certain 
proportion of the proceeds from the rental or sale of the estates was to be 



500 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XII 

paid Elizabeth Bellingham. ( Suff. Deeds, L. 30, f. 62 ; Suff. Early Court 
Files, No. G949, Paper 5; Chamberlain MSS., i. 107-109, 113.) July 15, 
1699, a decree was rendered by the Court of Chancery in a suit in which 
Edward and Rebecca Watts were the defendants and Samuel Bellingham 
was the plaintiff, the latter holding under his wife's will a life interest 
in the estates. In this suit the will of Mrs. Elizabeth Bellingham was 
brougiit in question, and declared null and void; Rebecca Watts was 
recognized by the court as the heiress at law of her sister Mrs. Bellingham, 
deceased. {Infra, p. 518.) But John Shelton and Edward Hull, in whom 
the trust title was vested, insisted that though invalid as a will, Mrs. Bell- 
ingliam's devise was valid as an appointment of the trust. Accordingly 
Edward and Rebecca Watts exhibited a Bill of Complaint in the Court of 
Chancery against Hull and Shelton. The latter did not have the deeds of 
the marriage settlement of 1695 in their keeping; nor had these deeds been 
recorded in Massachusetts. They instituted proceedings at the January 
term of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas for Suffolk County, Massa- 
chusetts, against Joseph Hiller to secure possession of the deeds, which, as 
their attorney, Nathaniel Newdigate deposed, had been left in the care of 
Joseph Hiller by Mrs. Elizabeth Bellingham in 1697. (Infra, p. 511.) 
Nevertheless Hull and Shelton did not produce the deeds of settlement in 
the Court of Chancery. Thereupon Sir Nathan Wright ordered them to 
convey the legal title to the estates to Edward and Rebecca Watts, but left 
initouched the question as to the equitable title, — that is, he ordered " that 
the said Defts do Execute unto the Complts a Conveyance of the said prem- 
isses according to the Settlement made upon the Marriage of the said 
Samuel Bellingham with Elizabeth his Wife And it is hereby Decreed 
That the said Complts Do hold and Enjoy the said Estate accordingly." 
(December 6, 1701.) This enabled Edward and Rebecca Watts to take 
possession of the estates, and collect the rents, but blocked sales. Hence 
they made a statement of the cas'e to two lawyers, William Cowper and 
John Danyell, to ascertain whether there was a possibility of obtaining 
full title to the estates. The lawyers' opinions were unfavorable, and in 
September, 1702, Edward and Rebecca Watts accepted a deed from Hull 
and Shelton according to the decree above cited. 

Although the will of Mrs. Elizabeth Bellingham gave to friends in New 
England legacies aggregating £95, and ten poimds a year for ten years 
to Harvard College, and to relatives in England, outside the family of 
Edward and Rebecca W^itts, legacies aggregating £115, and an annuity of 
£10, each individual legacy was small and, so far as is known, the legatees 
made no effort to enforce their claims in the courts. The legal obstacle 
to a full title was the minority of the children of Edward and Rebecca 
Watts. Evidence of this legal complication is seen in the following deeds. 
January 7, 1711/12, Andrew Belcher purchased the pasture at the South 
End of Boston. Edward and Rebecca Watts gave a warranty deed (Suff. 
Deeds, L. 26, f. 100) and Miss Elizabeth Bellingham a quitclaim deed 
(ibid., L. 27, f. 21). Rebecca Watts in her last will and testament en- 
joined her son Edward, residuary legatee under the will of his aunt Mrs. 
Sanuiel Bellingham, to execute a deed confirming this sale. October 14, 
1715, after the attainment of his majority, he did so {ibid., L. 39, f. 73). 
Title to the mansion house of Governor Bellingham passed bj' similar 
conveyances to Joseph Hiller {ibid., L. 25, f. 130; Boston Roc. Com. Rep., 
xxix.'lS3, 184). 

November 1, 1715, Samuel Bellingham's daughter Elizabeth quitclaiiiied 



Chap. XII] BELLINGHAM'S ESTATE BY DESCENT 501 

her rights under the agreement of April 25, 1G99, for £80 in cash, and an 
annuity of £50 a year secured by a mortgage on the Townsend farm at 
\Vinnisimmet. (Suff. Deeds, L. 30, f. 02.) See her receipts for this 
annuity in Chamberlain MSS., i. 123-157. According to the writ of 
September 19, 1757, she died February 3, 1745 (1746?). Infra, p. 611.] 



>02 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XII 



APPENDIX 

THE MARRIAGE SETTLEMENT 

This Indenture, Tripartite ^ made the Sixteenth day of April 
Anno Domini 1695. and in tlie Seventh year of the Reign of our 
Soveraign Lord William The Third by the Grace of God of Eng- 
land Scotland ff ranee & Jreland King Defender of the ffaith; 
Betweene Samuel Bellingham of the Parish of S* Anne West- 
mister in the County of Middlesex Esq^" Son & heir of Eichard 
Bellingham Late of Boston in Massachusetts Bay in N England 
Esq'^' Deced of y® first part, Elizabeth Savage of the Parrish of 
S' Anne Westminster afores*^ Widow of y^ Second part and 
Edward Hull Citizen & Habadasher of London and John Shelton 
Cytyzen & Sadler of London of the third part, Whereas a Marraige 
is Jntended by Gods permission Shortly to be had & Solemnized 
between the s^ Samuel. Bellingham & Elizabeth Savage, Now This 
Indenture Witnesseth That in Consideration of the Said Intended 
Marraige and for a Competent & Sufficient Maintainance for the 

^ [This indenture was preceded by ( 1 ) the " Articles of Agreement 
Tripartite Indented " between Samuel Bellingham, Elizabeth Savage, and 
Edward Hull and John Shelton, dated March 30, 1695. December IG, 1695, 
Richard Foster took oath before Isaac Addington, Justice of the Peace, 
to tlie signature of Edward Hull. April 2, 1701, Benjamin Lynde, as 
witness, gave oath before Isaac Addington to the signatures of Samuel 
Bellingham, Elizabeth Savage, and John Shelton; and Nathaniel Newdi- 
gate to the signatures of Elizabeth Savage and John Shelton. April 10, 
1701, this indenture was recorded in Suff. Deeds, L. 20, ff. 237-240. 
(2) Samuel Bellingham to Hull and Shelton April 15, 1695, an indenture 
of lease for six months ■" To the Jntent and purpose that by force hereof 
and of the Statute for Transferring Vses into possession in that behalf 
made & provided they the said Edward Hull & John Shelton may be in the 
actuall possession of all & Singular the pmisses, and may be Enabled to 
accept a grant and release of the revercon & Jnheritance thereof to them 
their heirs & assignes for Ever; Yeilding & paying therefore the Rent of 
one pepper Corn on the feast of St Michaels the Arch Angell Next Ensueing 
the date of these presents if the Same Shall bee Lawfully demanded and 
no more." April 2, 1701, Benj. Lynde made oath to the signature of 
Samuel Bellingham before Isaac Addington in Boston; at the October 
term of the County Court in 1701 he repeated his oath. May 13, 1702, the 
lease was recorded in Suff. Deeds, L. 21, ff. 22-24.] 



Chap. XII] APPENDIX 503 

said Elizabeth Savage Jn ease the s^ Jntended Marriage be had, 
and for Setling granting & assureing the Messuages grounds 
Lands Tenem*^ and hereditam*^ here in after mentioned or Jn- 
tended to be hereby granted To the use upon the Trusts and to 
the Jntents & purposes herein after mentioned and declared con- 
cerning the Same ; and in persuance of Certain Articles of Agree- 
ment bearing date the thirtyeth day of March Last past before y« 
date of these presents made or mention'd to be made between the 
s^ Samuel Bellingham of the first part, the said Elizabeth Savage 
of the second part, and the s*^ Edward Hull & John Shelton of the 
Third part ; and for and in Consideration of five Shillings of Law- 
full money of England to him the said Samuel Bellingham in 
hand at or before the Ensealing & delivery of these presents by 
the said Edward Hull & John Shelton paid, The receipt whereof 
is hereby Acknowledged; he the said Samuel Bellingham hath 
granted bargained sold aliened released enffeofl^ed & confirmed and 
by these Psents Doth grant bargaine sell aliene release enfeoft'e & 
confirm unto the said Edward Hull & John Shelton and their 
heires All that Messuage pcell of Land or Tenem*. Scittuate Lying 
& being at a place or Towne Called Winnesimet within his Majtys. 
Province or Collony of Massachusetts Bay in NEngland, and now 
or Late in the Tenure or Occupation of Eichard - Smith his Vnder 
Tenants or assignes and Sometime Called Smiths ffarme and also 
one Other Messuage parcel of Land or Tenem*. at Winisimet 
afores*^. now or late in the Tenure or Occupation of Jeremiah 
Belcher his under Tenants or assignes; and also one Other Mes- 
suage or Tenem*. with y®. appur^*^^. at Winnisimet afores*^. now or 
Late in the Tenure or Occupation of Nicholas. Eyce ^ his under 
Tenants or assignes ; and also one Other Messuage or Tenem*. with 
the appur^^^. at Winnisimet afores''. now or Late in the Tenure 
or Occupation of Samuel Townsend his Vndertenants, (Jn which 
Last mentioned Lands or Tenem*^. Penelope Bellingham Mother 
Jn Law of the Said Samuel Bellingham hath an Estate for Life 
or Some Estate determinable by her Death)* And also all that 
parcel or parcels of Land near the great Pond of Enon in the said 
Province or Collony of Massachusetts Bay in NEngland Contain- 

* [Francis Smith and John Smith are the names elsewhere connected 
with the Ferry farm. John Smitli was tenant in 1672, and was succeeded 
by his son-in-law John Brintnall, who remained on the farm until Edward 
Watts came there to live. See supra, pp. 296, 319, 320.] 

^ [Nicholas Rice left the farm in 1673 or 1674. Tliis farm was ad- 
judged to Richard Wharton in 1683. tSupra, pp. 439, 469.) 

* [This reservation was not inserted in the Articles of Agreement of 
March 30.] 



504 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XII 

ing by Estimacon Eight hundred acres be the Same more or Less 
Together with the said Pond.^ and also one peice or parcel of 
pasture Land Containing Two acres be it more or Less Adjoining 
to Angeloes house & near M*". Colborns Lands Lying at y^ South 
End of The Town of Boston in the said Province or Collony of 
Massachusetts Bay in NEngland ; and also one peice or percel 
of Land being a Side of a hill and adjoining to a hill formerly 
belonging to M''. Cotton in the said Town of Boston. And also 
one peice or parcel of Marsh Land adjoining to the Lands late of 
James Everill in the s*^. Town of Boston.® And also all the right 
title Jnterest Estate claim & demand of him the s*^. Samuel Bel- 
lingham in & to one Messuage or Tenem*. in y^ s,^ Town of Boston 
formerly the Dwelling house of his said Father Richard Belling- 
ham now or late in the possession of Penelope Bellingham ; '^ To- 
gether with all y*. grounds Sellers Shops and Other appur*^^^ 
whatsoever thereunto belonging or appertain^. And all & Sin- 
gular Other the Messuages ffarmes Lands grounds tenem*^. & 
hereditam^^: whatsoever of him the s*^ Samuel Bellingham in 
possession revertion remainder or Expectancey or whereof or 
wherein he the s*^. Samuel Bellingham hath any Estate of freehold 
or Jnheritance in possession or revertion '^ Scittuate Lying and 
being in or near the said Town of Boston or in the s^. Province or 
Colony of Massachusets Bay or Elsewhere in his Maj*y^. Said Ter- 
ritory & Dominion of NEngland — Together with all woods wood 
grounds waters fforry's rights Royaltys & Jurisdictions whatsoever 
to the s^. Messuages ffarmes & Pmisscs belonging or in any wise 

' [This does not appear in tlie inventory of Governor Bellingham's 
estate. Samuel Bellingham refers doubtless to the farm of 800 acres laid 
out to Governor Bellingham in 1G3!), and again in 1G62. It lay between 
" Andiuer, Salem & Rouley," and was sold by him to Bray Wilkins ami 
John Gingle March 9, 1G59/60. The last instalment on the mortgag? 
from Wilkins and Gingle was paid in 1G76, and accounted for in Richard 
Wharton's account given in the previous chapter. This was not near 
Wenham Lake {supra, p. 497). It was the Wills Hill farm, the situation 
of which is shown on W. P. Upham's map of Salem Village. The pond is 
there marked as " Wilkins Pond." Samuel Bellingham, it will be notcil, 
convej'ed 800 acres near the pond " Together with the said Pond." Wen- 
ham Lake never belonged to Governor Bellingham or his son. C. W. 
LIpham, Salem Witchcraft, i. pp. xviii (map), 143-145; Mass. Col. Rec, 
iv. Pt. ii. pp. 51, 63, G4.1 

" [Title to this was conveyed by Governor Bellingham to James Everell 
January 13, 1G56/7, subject to a mortgage, which was released by the 
executors of Governor Bellingham, March 3, 1672/3. Suflf. Deeds, L. 2, 
fi'. 338-341.) 

' [This last clause was not in the Articles of Agreement of March 30.] 



CUAP. XII] APPENDIX 505 

appertaining ^ And the revercon and revercons remainder & re- 
mainders rents Jssucs & profits of all & Singular the Pmisses * 
and also all the Estate, right, title, Interest benifit Trust claim 
& demand whatsoever both in Law and Equit}' of him the s**o 
Samuel Bellingham of into & out of the Pmisses and of into & 
out of Every part & parcel thereof to have & to hold The 
s*^. Messuages, ffarmes Lands Tenem*^. hereditam^^. and all & 
Singular the Pmisses herein before mentioned or Jntended to be 
hereby granted & Every part thereof with their appur*^*^^., unto 
the Said Edward Hull and John Shelton their heirs & assignes, 
To the use of the said Edward Hull and John Shelton their heirs 
& assignes forEver, Vpoh the Trusts and to the Jntents & pur- 
poses herein after mentioned expressed & declared (That is to Say) 
In Trust for the s*^. Samuel Bellingham and his heirs untill the 
said Marraige Shall be had or Solempnized and from & after the 
Solempnization of the said Jntended Marraige Then Jn Trust for 
such person or persons and their heires for such Estate & Estates 
and in such manner & forme as the said Elizabeth Savage wether 
Sole or Marr}'ed and as well Sole as Marryed with or without the 
Consent of her husband shall by any writing or writings or by her 
Last Will & Testam*^. in Vv^riting or any writings purporting her 
Last Will & Testam* to be by her Signed & Sealed in the presence 
of three or more Credible Witnesses at any time or times name 
direct Limitt or appoint, and for want of such Nomination direc- 
tion limitation or appointm^ and untill some such direction Lim- 
itation or appointm*. shall be made & take Effect, Jn Trust for 
& for the Sole and Seperate benifit of the said Elizabeth Savage 
her heirs & assignes without any Controule or Jnterrmedling of 
the said Samuel Bellingham and to & for no Other use Trust 
Jnterest or purpose whatsoever; And that the s*^. Edward Hull 
& John Shelton shall Employ & dispose of the rents Jssues & 
proflfitts of y^: s**.premisses and Every part & percel of them in 
such manner as the s^. Elizabeth Savage by any writing under 
her hand shall direct & appoint; And the s^. Samuel Bellingham 
for himselfe his heirs Exec''^. & Adm''^. and for Every of them 
doth Covenant promise & grant to & with the s^. Edward Hull 
& John Shelton their heirs & assignes by these presents in man- 
ner following (That is to Say) That they the said Edward Hull 
& John Shelton their heirs & assignes Shall or Lawfully may 
peaceably & quietly enter into have hold Occupy possess & Enjoy 
all & Singular the Pmisses and receive & take y^: rents Jssues & 

* [These two clauses were not included March 30, the ferry rights not 
being specifically mentioned.] 



50G HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Cuap. XII 

profits thereof upon the Trusts & to the Jntents & purposes herein 
before mentioned and Expressed without any Lawfull Suit Lett 
hindrance or Jnterruption of or by the s'^. Samuel Bellingham or 
his heirs or any Other person or persons Lawfully claiming to 
claim by from or under him them or any of them; And Lastly 
That he the s'^. Samuel Bellingham and his heirs and all and Every 
Other person & persons whosoever any Estate haveing or Lawfully 
claiming of into or out of y^ Pmisses or of in to or out of Every 
or any part thereof by from or under him or them Shall and will 
from time to time and at all times hereafter at the reasonable 
request of the said Edward Hull & John Shelton or the Surviveour 
of them or the heirs of Such Surviveour doe make Levy Execute 
Acknowledge & Suffer or Cause or procure to be made done ac- 
knowledged Levyed & suffered all & Every such further & other 
Lawfull and reasonable Act & Acts deed & Deeds thing & things 
devices Conveyances and assurances in the Law whatsoever for 
the further better & more perfect & absolute assureing setling & 
confirming of all & Singular the premisses herein before mentioned 
and Every or any part thereof, To the uses upon the Trusts and to 
the Jntents & purposes herein before mentioned & Expressed con- 
cerning the same Bee it by ffine or fines Cofiion recovery or recov- 
erys Deed or Deeds Inrolled or not Inrolled y? Jnrollment of these 
presents or otlierwise as by the said Edward Hull and John Shel- 
ton their heirs or assignes or their or any of their Council Learned 
in the Law shall be reasonably devised or advised & required; 
In Witness whereof the partys first abovenamed have to these 
present Jndentures Interchangeably Set their hands & Seals the 
day & year first abovewritten Samuel Bellingham & a Seal 
Elizabeth Savage & a Seal, Edward Hull & a Seal, John Shelton 
& a Seal. Sealed & delivered by y^. withinamed Samuel Belling- 
ham in the presence of, John Jacob, Eichard Allen, Sampson 
Puller, AVilliam Barnard, Benjamin Lynde, Sealed & Delivered 
by y®. within named, Edward Hull in the presence of, J: Win- 
throp, Jahleel Brenton, Eichard ffoster; Sealed & delivered by 
the within named Elizabeth Savage and John Shelton in presence 
of, Eobert AVolley, John Jacob, Nath'. Newdigate Benj**. Lv-nde; 
Memorandum this Deed was Stamped with the Six penny Stamp, 
before the Sealing, John Jacob, Eichard Allen, Sampson Puller, 
Boston in NEngland December 16*^ 1695. The abovenamed 
Eichard ffoster psonally appearing before me the Subscriber one 
of the Council & lustice of the Peace within his Maj^^^, Province 
of the Massachusetts Bay in NEngland made Oath that he was 
present & did see the within named Edward Hull Seal and deliver 
the witliin written Jnstrum*. as his act & Deed and that he the 



Chap. XII] APPENDIX 507 

s^.. Depon*. Together with J. Winthrop, & Jahleel Brenton Sub- 
scribed their names as Witnesses to the same — Jurat Cor. — Js^. 
Addington. 

Suffolk ss — Boston April 2o. 1701 Messi's. BenJ^^. Lynde & 
Natha'. Newdigate psonally appearing made Oath That they did 
see the within Named Elizabeth Savage & John Shelton, and the 
Depon*. Lynde did also see Samuel Bellingham Seal & deliver the 
within written Jnstrum*. as their Act & Deed to the use therein 
mentioned and that they the Deponants with Robert Wolley, John 
Jacob, Kichard Allen, Sampson Puller, & W". Barnard respec- 
tively set to their hands as Witnesses of the Execudon thereof — 

Jur. Cor : Js^. Addington J : Pac • 
Suffolk ss — At an Inferiour Court of Comon please holden at 
Boston for the County afores'^ on the first Tuesday of October 
Anno Domini 1?01, Mess^'^. Benj^. L}Tide & Nath'. JSTewdigate 
personally appearing made Oath That they did see the within 
Named Elizabeth Savage and John Shelton and the Depon*. 
Lynde did also see Samuel Bellingham Seal & deliver the within 
written Jnstrum*. as their Act & Deed for the use therein men- 
tioned And that they the Depon^^., with Eobert Wolley, John 
Jacob, Richard Allen, Sampson Puller and William Barnard re- 
spectively Set to their hands as Witnesses of the Execution 
Thereof. Attest^. Addington Davenport Clef 
Memorandum That on the first day of December anno Domini 
1696 Jn presence of us y^ Subscribers, Joseph Hiller of Boston 
in the County of Suffolk within the Province of the Massachusetts 
Bay in NEngland by Virtue of a Power ^ derived from the within 
Named Samuel Bellingham Esq^. and as his Attorney did enter 
into & upon one of the Messuages Tenem*^. or ffarmes at Winni- 
simett in the Town Ship of Boston afores**. in the County & Prov- 
ince afores^\ Called Smiths ffarme within mentioned and in the 
Mansion house thereof, full quiet & peaceable possession thereof 
did Take in the Name of all the Lands Tenem*^. & hereditam*^ 
within & Every their appur*^^^. in the within written Deed or 
Jnstruni*. mentioned & Expressed, and after full quiet & peace- 
able possession of the Pmises had & taken persuant to the Powers 
to him derived from the said Samuel Bellingham &.as his Attoiyiy 
full quiet & peaceable possession of the s'^. ffarme Called Smiths 

° [April 16, 1695, the date of the above indenture, Samuel Bellingham 
executed a power of attorney authorizing Samuel Phillips or Joseph Hilde- 
ganl (Hiller) to give livery of seizin on the premises to the attorney of 
Hull and Shelton. April 2, 1701, Benj. Lynde testified to the signature 
l>efore Isaac Addington, J. P., and again at the October term of the 
Inferior Court of Common Pleas.] 



508 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XII 

ffarme in the Mansion house thereof Jn the Name of all the Lands 
Tenoni*^. & ffarmes with their & Even' of their appur<^^^. • Jn the 
within mentioned Deed or Jnstrument mentioned & Expressed 
unto Nath'. Newdigate as Attorney ^" of the within Xamed Ed- 
ward Hull & John Shelton & unto y^ within Named Elizabeth 
Bellingham did give & deliver To have & to hold according to 
the tf'orme & Effect of the within written Deed; Samuel Lynde, 
Josepli Webb — And in the Psence of me the Subscriber one of 
his Maj^ys. Council of y^ Province of the Massachusetts Bay in 
NEngland and Justice of Peace within y^ Same. 

Nathaniel Thomas ^^ 
To all to whom these presents Shall Come Greeting Whereas Jere 
Belcher of Boston within Named & Sarah his wife & John Center 
of Boston afores^. Hold by Lease from Eichard Bellingham Late 
of Boston Esq"", deced & his heirs the ffarme within Mentioned to 
be in y*^ Tenure Occupation & possession of the said Belcher ffor 
& dureing the Lives of her the said Sarah & him the s**. John 
Center Yeilding the Annuall rent of Ten pounds ^^ And for 
asmuch as Samuel Bellingham Esq'", only Son & heir of the said 
Eichard on whom the s^ Lands are decended Together with Other 
Lands, Hath Jn Consideration of Marraige Conveyed the said 
ifarme to ffeoffes in Trust for the use of the said Eliz* Savage 
now the wife of the said Samuel Bellingham as by the within 
written lustrum*, doth appear, now know yee That wee the 
s^. Jeremiah Belcher & Sarah his wife & John Center Doe Consent 
to Atturn & Do hereby Atturne unto the feoffes of the said Samuel 
Bellingham within Named for the use of the said Elizabeth & for 
the future to pay the rents of the s^ ffarme as they shall become 
due by the afores^ Lease accordingly. Jn Witness whereof wee 
have hereunto Set Our hands the 19**^. of Janu^ — 1696 — Jere- 
miah Belcher, Sarah Belcher \ her Mark John Center. Witness 
Joseph Eussell, Elizabeth Thomas — 

Memorandum That on the 19**^ day of January Anno Domini 
1696, The above Named Jeremiah Belcher Sarah Belcher and 

'" [On the same day, April 16, 1695, Hull and Shelton constituted 
Benj. Mountfort and Nathaniel Newdigate their attorneys jointly or sev- 
erally to receive " full & quiet Seizin and possession " of the premises. 
December 16, 1695, Richard Foster made oath to the signatures before 
Isaac Addington. April 2, 1701, Benj. Lynde made oath to the signature 
of John Shelton; also at the October term of the court. Both powers of 
attorney were recorded May 13, 1702, immediately after the indenture of 
lease of April 15, in Suff. Deeds, L. 21, fl". 24-26.] 

" [Mrs. Elizabeth Bellingham appointed Joseph Hiller and Nathaniel 
Thomas executors of her will.] 

" [See supra, p. 378.] 



Chap. XII] APPENDIX 509 

John Center ; appeared before me the Subscriber one of his Maj^y^ 
Council of the Massachusetts Bay in NEngland and Justice of 
peace within y^ same and acknowledged the above written at- 
tournm*. to be their Act & Deed. Nathaniel Thomas 

Eec<? to be Eecorded May 13° 1702 
& is accordingly Entred and Examined 

p Ad*^^° : Davenport Eegisf.^^ 

Will of Elizabeth Bellingham 

m THE NAME OF GOD AMEN I Elizabeth Bellingham 
Wife of Samuel Bellingham of London in the Kingdom of Eng- 
land Esqi" : being bound to Sea for the aforesaid Port of London, 
not knowing how it may please the wise disposer to dispose of me 
Do make this my last Will and Testament. First & above all 
I commit my Soul into the hands of God my Saviour in hope of 
eternal Salvation through the precious merit of my Lord Jesus 
Christ. And for the disposal of my outward Estate which God 
hath graciously given me (my s*^. Husband Samuel Bellingham by 
Deed to Feoffees in Trust for my use and to my sole dispose 
having conveyed unto me all the Lands, Farmes, houses, Tene- 
ments and appurtenances whatsoever here in New England, for- 
merly belonging unto or the right of Eichard Bellingham Esq"^": 
late of Boston in New England afores*^. Dece*^.) My Will is That 
my dear and loving husband Samuel Bellingham afores*^. have 
& enjoy all the Bents, profits and Incomes of all the s**. Lands, 
Farmes houses with all and singular their appurtenances for and 
during the terme of his natural life. Item I give and bequeath 
unto Harvard Colledge in Cambridge in New England the Sum 
of Ten pounds money p annii for the terme of ten yeares, com- 
menceing from the decease of my s*^. husband to be paid by my 
Executors out of the Eents of the afores*^. Lands, Farmes &c. 
Item I give unto M*" Benjamin Woodbridge ten pounds, and unto 
M'^' Increase Mather, M»" Samuel Willard, M"^ Cotton Mather Min- 
isters in Boston afores*^. ten pounds p piece money, to be paid by 
my Executors out of the lirst yeares Eents of s^. Lands &c after 
my s,^. husbands decease. Item I give unto Nathaniel Thomas 
of Boston afores^ Esq"" : Twenty pounds and to M'*. Joseph Hiller 
of Boston afores*^. Ten pounds, and imto his Wife M""®: Susanna 
Hiller Ton pounds, and unto their Children Namely Joseph Hiller, 
Susanna Hiller and Benjamin Hiller five pounds p piece money 
to be paid out of the Eents of the afores^ Lands &c within two 

" Suff. Deeds T- 21, IT. 18-22. 



510 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XII 

yeares after the decease of my s*?. Husband. Item That at the 
decease of my s^. husband my Will is that Thomas Danfcjrth Esq"" : 
of Cambridge and Cap^ Samuel Sewall Esq^" : and the four Min- 
isters afores'^, Cap^ Nathan", Thomas Esq'": and his Wife, ]\P': 
Joseph Hiller and his Wife & Edward Mills of Boston afores*^. 
have each of them a mourning ring provided by my Exec'"^: and* 
paid for out of my Rents of afores^ Lands. Item I give and 
bequeath unto my loving Brother Edward Watts of London 
afores^. Citizen one hundred pounds Sterling money, to [be] paid 
out of the first Eents of Lands &c. aforesaid. Item I give unto 
my Sister Eebecca Wife unto Edward Watts afores^. Twenty 
pounds p annum money [during] her natural life, and unto such 
of her Children borne of her body as she pleaseth for ever. Item 
I give unto their Children namely Samuel Watts two hundred 
pounds, and to Rebecca Watts one hundred pounds and to Eliza- 
beth Watts one hundred pounds, and to each one of them the same 
to be paid at age or the day of Marriage, and ten pounds a year to 
each of them during their lives. Item I give unto my Sister Mary 
Smith the Sum of Ten pounds p annum for and during the terme 
of fifteen years comencing from my husbands decease, and Fifty 
pounds down at the day of Marriage if she pleaseth my afores^. 
Brother and Sister Watts in her match. Item I give unto M**. 
Samuel Slaughter Minister in London, M"". Edward Hull and M^', 
John Shelton Citizens in London five pounds p piece, and to my 
Aunt Banniard ten pounds, and to my Cousin Elizabeth Skibbow 
ten pounds and to Cousin Elenor Bird ten pound, and to my 
Uncles Samuel Hermer and Edmund Hermer ten pounds p piece 
Sterling money. Item I give unto Edward Watts alias Bellingham 
Watts Son to my Brother Edward and Rebecca Watts afores*^. all 
the remainder of my s<^. Estate Lands, housing Revenues in pos- 
session or revertion, to him and to his heires for ever. But in case 
he dye before he be of age My Will is that his Brother Samuel 
Watts afores*^. Succeed him in his afores*^. Rights, and then the 
bequest of Two hundred pounds to s^. Samuel Watts to be divided 
betwixt his Sisters Rebecca and Elizabeth Watts. Item I desire 
that my afores*^. Nephew Edward Watts be educated in the Col- 
ledge afores*^. if his Parents please Lastly I constitute and appoint, 
my afores"? Brother Edward Watts and my good Friends Cap*- Na- 
thaniel Thomas & Joseph Hiller afores*^. to be the Executors of 
this my last Will and Testament, and desire my s*^. Brother Watts 
to accept the Guardianship of his Son Edward Watts for the prem- 
isses in his minority. In Witness whereof I the s^. Elizabeth Bel- 
lingham have hereunto Set my hand and Seal this . . . day of 
November Anno Dom' : 1697 Anno^ RR^ Gulielmi Tertii nunc 



CiiAP. XII] APPENDIX 511 

Angliae &c nono. Elizabeth Bellmgham and a Seal Signed 
Sealed and declared by the s*^. Elizabeth Belliughaui to be her 
last Will & Testament in presence of us, John Indecott, John 
IS'ichols, Obadiah Wakefield — Edward Mills 
Exaui^. P. Js^ : Addington RegV./.^* 

Deposition of Nathaniel Newdigate ^° 

This Deponent testifyes & sayth that in the year 1695 he this 
Deponent did bring over with him from England three Deeds of 
the Settlement of the estate of Samuel Bellingham Esq"" uppon 
m'" John Shelton & M^ Edwar'i Hull ffeofees in trust for Elizabeth 
Bellingham his wife which said deeds were in part proved and 
Sworne to by Cap' Eichard ffoster but not recorded for want of 
the other wittnesses who were then absent that in the year 1696 
M^^ Elizabeth Bellingham comeing over to New England and 
after some stay here intending to returne to England and under- 
standing likewise that this Deponent designed in a short time to 
goe to England likewise she desired that in regard of his said 
intended absence that the said deeds ]\Iight be left with M'" Joseph 
Hilliard dureing this Deponents absence which this Deponent con- 
sented to and further sayth that this deponent as attorney to the 
said feofees did give to the said Joseph Hilliard a letter of Attorney 
to doe and act ff'or the said ffeofees in trust as should be needfull 
in the said Matters : After which this Deponent went for England 
and there rec*^ an other letter of attorney from the said ffeofees 
to looke after the said estate and accordingly afterwards uppon 
his arriveall in New England being in the year 1699 : This 
Deponent Endeavoured to Act according thereto and att severall 
times & pticularly on the 11*'^ of October last and once Since : this 
Deponent went to the said Joseph Hilliard in the Names of the 
said ffeofees in trust to demand the said deeds of Settlement or 
that he would prove and record the same; and saith that the said 
Joseph Hilliard Did then owne that he had the said deeds but 
would not deliver them to this Deponent nor prove nor record 

" SuflF. Prob. Rec, L. 8, f. 282. [August 11, 1G9S, the will was pro- 
bated, and administration granted to Nathaniel Tlionias and Joseph 
Hiller " Reserving power of making out a like Commission unto the sd. 
Edward Watts . . .when he shall come to desire the same," he being 
then in England.] 

" Cliamberlain MSS., i. 77. [Tliis deposition was made in tlie case of 
Hull and Slielton is. Hiller in the Inferior Court of Common Pleas for 
Suffolk County at tl:e January term, 1700/1701. The court record 
follows.] 



512 HISTORY OF CHELSEA " [Chap. XII 

them as this Deponent desired him but said he would consider of 
it : Boston the 7^^ January 1700 [1701] 

Nath'' Newdigate — 
January 7th i^qO [1701] Sworne in Court Attest? Ad^o^ Daven- 
port Cler. 

[Hull and Shelton" vs. Hiller^® 

At an Inferiour Court of Common Pleas held at Boston for 
Suffolk County on the first Tuesday of January, 1700 [1701] . . . 
Edward Hull of the City of London Habadashr & In^ Shelton 
of the same Sadler, ffeoffees in Trust for the Estate late of Samuel 
Bellingham of the Parish of S* Ann Westminster in the County 
of Mid^ EsqV Situate lying & being at Winnisimmet in the County 

of Suffolk in New England Pla*? u Joseph Hiller of Boston 

Tinplate Worker Deft In an action of the Case, for y* the 

saide Joseph Hiller doth detain from & refuseth to deliver to the 
PI*? ft'eofl'ees as aforcs'^ the Writings & Conveyances of the Mar- 
riage Settlement of the said Samuel Bellingham with Elizabeth 
Savage his late Wife deced, concerning the said Estate being y^ 
Articles of Agreem* between the said Samuel & Elizabeth, & a 
Lease to Introduce Possession of the s'^ Lands bearing date the 
15**^ day of April 1695. & the Release or Indenture Tripartite 
bearing date y^ 16*^^ day of April 1695. which said Writings of 
right belong to the PI*? as ffeoffees in trust as afores? Yet the said 
Joseph Hiller (although often thereunto requested) the afores*^ 
Writings & Deeds to the Pl^^ to deliver hath hitherto refused, & 
stil refuseth to deliver the same to them. Which is to y^ Damage 
of the said Edward Hull & John Shelton (as they say) the Sum 
of Five hundred Pounds. 

The Deft appears by Jn° Leveret his attorney & pleads y* he 
never reced the Writings mentioned in y^ Writt of y^ Pl*^, neither 
doth he Detain any of said Writings belonging to them. Upon 
w^^ issue being joyned (Nathaniel Newdigate entring into a Eule 
of Court to pay Costs in case judgment be rendered for y^ Deft) 
the Case after a full hearing was committed to the lury, who were 
Sworn according to Law to Try the same, & return'd their Verdict 
therein upon Oath. That is to say, they find for y^ PI*? y^ Writ- 
ings Sued for, or for want thereof . Five hundred Pounds money 
damage, & Costs of Suit. It's therefore consider'd by the Court 
yt the said Edward Hull & Jn*' Shelton ffeoffees as afores*? shall 

" Records of Inf. Court of Common Pleas for Suff. Co., 1699 to 1701, 
p. 84. 



Chap. XII] APPENDIX 513 

recover of the said Joseph Hiller the Writings Sued for, or for 
want thereof Five hundred Pounds money damage & Costs of 
Suit The Def* appealed from this ludgment unto the next Sup"" 
Court of Judicature to be holden for this County & entred into 
Recognizance with Suretyes as the Law directs for p''secuting his 
said appeal with Eifect.^^ 2^ Ii^ry.] 

Watts et Ux vs. Shelton et al. 

Decree in Chancery 

AxxA Dei Gratia Angliae Scotiae Franciae et Hiberniae 
Eegina Fidei Defensor &c. Omnibus ad quos presentes Literae 
Nostrae pervenerint Salutem. Inspeximus Irroculamen ^^ cu jus- 
dam flnalis judicii sive Decret. coram nobis in Cur. Cancellar 
nostrae nuper fact & reddit in Roculis ejusdem Curiae Irroculat 
ac ibidem de Iiecordo remanen cujus Tenor sequitur in haec verba. 
Whereas heretofore, That is to say, in or about the Term of the 
toly Trinity which was in the year of Our Lord God according to 
the Computation of the Church of England One Thousand vSeven 
hundred Edward Watts and Eebecca his Wife Complainants Did 
Exhibite their Bill of Complaint into this High and Honourable 
Court of Chancery against John Shelton and EdAvard Hull De- 
fendants. Thereby setting forth That Whereas One Samuel Bell- 
ingham was Seized in Fee of Certain Messuages and Lands in 
and near Boston in New England about Five years before the 
Bill Exhibited, the said Samuel Bellingham having Contracted 
with One Elizabeth Savage to marry her the said Elizabeth, Jn 
Consideration whereof he the said Samuel Conveyed all his 
said Messuages and Lands 'unto the said Def^^. and their heirs, 
To the use of the said Samuel Bellingham till the Consum- 
mation of the said Marriage and from and after the said Mar- 
riage Consummated, Then to the use of the said Elizabeth and 
her heirs. Soon after which the said Samuel Bellingham was 
Married to the said Elizabeth, who about Two years after her 
said Marriage departed this Life without issue leaving the Cora- 

" [No record of an appeal has been found. April 2, 1701, witnesses 
made oath to all the documents in the case before Isaac Addington, Jus- 
tice of the Peace. The articles of agreement of Marcli 30, 1G95, were re- 
corded at once on April 10. Only one witness made oath to the signature 
of Samuel Bellingham'a lease (of April 15, 1G95), and of the indenture 
tripartite and letters of attorney of April IG; he repeated his oath before 
tlie Inferior Court of Common Pleas for Suffolk County at its October 
term in 1701. Tlie papers were recorded May 13, 1702. For the signifi- 
cance of this suit, see infra, the legal opinions of Cowper and Danyell ; 
also supra, p. 490, note 18.] 

" Irrotulamentvmi, i.e., relatio in rotulum. 

VOL. I. — yy . 



51-i HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XII 

pi*. Eebecca Watts her Sister and heir then aged about Thirty 
years who had been Advised That from and after the decease 
of her said Sister by virtue of the said Conveyance and the 
Statute of the Twenty Seventh of Henry the Eighth which 
Transferrs the Title and possession to the use &c. That She the 
Complainant had Title to the said Messuages and Lands, and 
ought to have received the Eents and profits thereof, But the 
Compl'^''. by their said Bill did further set forth that the said 
Def^^. Combining together to Defraud the Complainants of the 
said Messuages and Lands by Colour of their said Trust have 
made a Warrant of Attorney sometime since to One Nathanael 
Newdigate tlicir Correspondent living in Boston in New England 
to Receive the Ecnts and profits of the said Messuages and Lands 
in New England of which they never had paid One Farthing to 
the Complainants altho' there were at the time of the Bill Exhib- 
ited more than Two years Eent due to the Complainants for the 
same, and the said j\Iessuages and Lands are of the yearly value 
of Two hundred pounds p annum or thereabouts, which is Con- 
trary to the Letter and Jntent of their said Trust if any such 
they have sometimes pretending the said Elizabeth made a Will 
and Devised by the same several parts of the said Messuages and 
Lands, not taking notice that the said Elizabeth was a ferae 
Covert when such Will was made (as in truth she was) nor of 
the Statute of the Thirty fourth of Henry the Eighth by which 
amongst other things it was Enacted that the Will of a Feme 
Covert of Lands and hereditam*^. was void; And the Compl*^ 
Did further set forth That a former Bill was since the said Will 
made and the Death of the said Elizabeth Exhibited into this 
Hono'^'^. Court against the Complain*^, for parcel of the said Mes- 
suages and Lands in which Bill some Title was made by the said 
Will to the Lands and matters then in demand. Unto which Bill 
the now Compl*^. pleaded the said Statute of the Thirty fourth 
of Henry the Eighth, Which plea upon arguing thereof was 
allowed as would appear by the Eecords of the said Cause remain- 
ing in this Hono'''^ Court,^^ to which for more Certainty in tlio 
same, the Complainants referred themselves who by their said 
Bill did further set forth That the said Def*^. at other times pre- 
tended they would be glad to be Quit of the said Trust, but that 
they could not without Hazard be discharged thereof save only 
by a Decree of this Hono'''^. Court, and that under such pretences 
as aforesaid they had then above Two years kept the Compl*^. 

" [The date of the order by the Court of Chancery dechiring the will 
null and void was July 15, 1699. See infra, p. .518.] 



Chap. XII] APPENDIX 515 

from (lie benefit and Rents of the said Messuages and premisses 
and liad hindered the said Complainants in the possession or Dis- 
position of the same, and still Continued so to do. Therefore 
that the said Def^*^. might answer all and Singular the premisses, 
and might Set forth what Eents and profits the}'^ or their Agents 
had received from or out of the premisses, and might be Com- 
pelled to pay the same to the Compl*^^. Edward Watts and Rebecca 
his Wife and might be Enjoyned and Commanded to proceed no 
further in the Receiving the Rents of the said Messuages and 
Lands, and that they should not Disturb the Complainants in 
Receiving the same, but might be Discharged from their said 
Trust if any such they had. And For Releif in all and Singular 
the matters and things aforesaid the said Complainants humbly 
Craved the Aid and Assistance of this Hono^'®. Court, And that 
the usual process of Subpoena might be thereout Awarded against 
the said Def*^. to Compell them to appear to and Answer the Com- 
plainants said Bill of Complaint which being granted and the 
said Def*^^''. therewith duly served, they accordingly appeared and 
put in their Joynt and Several Answer to the said Bill. And the 
said Def*^ John Shelton and Edward Hull by their Joynt and 
Several Answer said they had heard and for ought they knew to 
the Contrary it might be true. That the said Samuel Bellingham 
had some Estate in Lands of Jnheritance in New England, And 
that upon a Treaty and in Consideration of a Marriage between 
him and the said Elizabeth Savage he might settle the same in 
Trust on them the Def^^. as therein set forth, But the Def^^. had 
not in their or Either of their Custody or keeping any Deed or 
Deeds writing or writings whatsoever made and Executed by the 
said Samuel Bellingham thereby Conveying the said Estate or 
Creating or Declaring any Trust thereof whatsoever to them the 
Def*^®. or Either of them nor did they or Either of them know in 
whose Custody or Possession such Deed or Deeds then or late 
were nor could the Def*^. or Either of them for the Reasons afore- 
said set forth any such Deed or Deeds or the dates or Contents 
thereof,^** And they Disclaimed all Estate in or by any such Deeds 
aforesaid to or for their own use and benefit but if any such Deed 
or Deeds were or were made to the use of or in Trust for any 
other person or persons, they the Def**'. would not prejudice them 
or have any such persons prejudiced, They the Def*^^. having 
heard That there was or were Such Deeds or Deeds in Trust some 
how for the Sole and seperate use and disposal of the said Eliza- 

"" [See supra, p. 512, the record of a suit to obtain possession of these 
papers. ] 



516 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XII 

beth Savage, and that She had pursuant thereto made some Will 
or writing in nature of a Will by Avhich One Edward Watts alias 
Bellingham Watts Son of the said Compl*^ then a Young Infant 
under the Age of One and Twenty years, as also other persons 
were or might be Entituled unto the Estate in the Bill mentioned 
or some part thereof or something out of the same. And the Def^^ 
severally Denying all unlawful Combination laid to their Charge 
concluded their said Answer with the General Traverse, Unto 
which said Answer of the Dei^^. the Compl*^^. Eeplyed, and the 
Dcf*^. Eejoyned, And the said Cause being at full and perfect 
issue divers Witnesses were Examined therein and their Deposi- 
tions duly taken and pul:»lished according to the Antient and laud- 
able Eules and practice of this Hono^'^. Court, As by the said Bill 
answer Eeplication Depositions of Witnesses and proceedings had 
in the said Cause, All of them remaining duly filed and as of 
Eecord in this Hono^'®. Court, reference thereunto being had, 
might more fully and at large appear. And the said Cause being 
thus ready for hearing, a day was afterwards by this Court ap- 
pointed for the hearing thereof, on which day being the 6^^ day 
of December, in the Thirteenth year of His present Maj*'^^. Eeign 
The said Cause coming to be heard and Debated before the Eight 
Hono^'®. the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England in the 
presence of Council learned on both sides, The Substance of tlie 
said Compl*^. Bill and of the said Def*^. Answer thereto appeared 
to be to the Effect herein before Set forth Whereupon and upon 
long Debate of the matter and hearing what was insisted on l)y 
Council on both sides. His Lordship Declared That the said Eliz- 
abeth Bellingham being at the time of making her said Will a 
feme Covert her said Will is void in Law according to the Statute 
of the four and Thirtieth of Henry the Eighth, And the said 
Estate descends and comes to the Comp'*. Eebecca as heir at Law 
to the said Elizal)etli Bellingham iVnd Doth think fit and so Order. 
And It is Therefore this present day That is to say. On Saturday 
the said Sixth day of December in the aforesaid Thirteenth year 
of the Eeign of Our most Gracious Sovereign Lord William the 
Third by the Grace of God of England Scotland France and 
Jreland King Defender of the Faith &c. And in the year of 
Our Lord God according to the Computation aforesaid One 
Thousand Seven hundred and One. By the Eight Hono^'^. Sir 
Nathan Wright Knight Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of Eng- 
land, and by the said high and Hono'^'^ Court of Chancery, and 
the power and Authority thereof. Ordered Adjudged and Decreed 
That the said Defendants be discharged from their Trust, And 
that the said Def^s. Do Execute unto the Compl^^. A Conveyance 



CiiAP. XII] APPENDIX 517 

of the said premisses according to the Settlement made upon the 
]\iarriage of the said Samuel Bellingham with Elizabeth his Wife, 
And it is hereby Decreed That the said Compl*^'^. Do hold and 
Enjoy the said Estate accordingly, And it is Further Ordered 
That the said Def ^. Do come to an Account with the Compl*^. 
before Sir Eichard Holford Knight One of the Masters of this 
Court for wliat Eents and profits they or their Agents have received 
out of the said premisses or without their wilfull Default might 
have received, Jn Taking of which Account the said Master is to 
make unto the said Defend^®, all Just Allowances, and to pay them 
their Costs of this Suit, and what the said Master shall Certify 
to be in the Def*^. hands of the Eents and profits of the said 
Estate, The said Defend*^, are hereby Ordered and Decreed to 
pay the same unto the Complain*^, at Such time and place as the 
said Master shall Appoint, and for what the said Defendants shall 
do in pursuance of this Decree They are Hereby saved harmless 
and Jndemnifyed: Nos autem Tenorem Jrroculamenti praediet 
ad Eequisic-onem praefat Quaerentium, Duximus Exemplifieand 
per presentes. In cujus rei Testimonium has literas nostras fieri 
fecimus Patentes. Teste nieipsa apud Westmonasterium Nono 
die Februarii anno Eegni nostri quarto. Trevor: High Lord. 
Exaiatur [Examinatur] p Nos Thomas Gery, Eobert Legard, 
Magros in Cane. January the Seventh 1711 Eeceived and ac- 
cordingly Entred and Examined. 

p Addington Davenport Eegist? -^ 

Edward Watts & ux pits John Shelton & \ -p. p- 

Edward Hull j ^^^^ 

The Case 

Samuel Bellingham having Comunicacon with one Eliz. Savage 

o^ M iTQ^ ^^*-^ ^° make her his wife did agree & consent if she 

would be married to him, he would settle & invest 

her in all his Estate & Inheritance w^*^ he had at Boston in ISTew 

Engkt upon her & her heirs for ever to be at her own disposall 

whether sole or married without the Consent of her husband and 

1 -n 1 -P the &^ Sam" Bellingham did pfect & settle the 

<^ ffi t r> + 1 ^^ Estate & Inhitance by certain Deeds for that 

g ^ ' purpose made upon Defts In trust for the benefit 

^ .., /^^ of s<^ Eliz. Savage & her heirs if the intended 

^^^^ ' ]\rarriage took effect \^^^ Marriage in a few 

^ SufT. Deeds, L. 20, f. 92. [A copy of this decree by " Elisha Cooke 

Cler," and endorsed " & Townsend, Boston May 1708," is in Suff. 

Early Court Files, No. 7402, Paper No. 3.1 



518 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [CiiAr. XII 

days after was solemnized and abt a year after the Intermarriage 
she went over Sea to New Engld to take poSsion of tlie s'.' Estate 
& did lett set & take the rents & pfits of y*^ same without any 
Controul of defts or others but she continuing in Xew Engkt for 
■y. -. .-., above a years time & being often sick was p^'vailed 
upon there by some of her Acquaintance in XovV 1697 
to make a will & therein Setled the Estate 

And ab* Janfy 1697 [1698] she dyed without Issue After whose 
decease it was supposed the Estate descended to pit Eebecca Watts 
her Sister & sole heiress which she claimed by the Marriage 
Settlem* but is p^'vented of enjoying the same By Defts p^'tending 
they were Trustees not only till the Marriage took effect but for 
the future according to any Will or "Writing the s^ Eliz. Belling- 
ham should make & she having made a Will as afores*? in the same 
it is inserted y* after her husbands death the s^ Estate shall go to 
Edw? W^atts ats Bellingham & his heirs for ever who is a Minor 
abt 7 3'ears old & Son to pit and in case he d3'es without issue then 
to Sam" Watts his broV & a Minor also 

This Will came in queon & was by Order of the High Court 

-J- , „ of Chancery & determined Null & void To 

., ,, ^ x J which Defts p^tend y* pit Wats to make void 
vide the nrst de- ,, ^ „r-n i -^i x. n- i • 4. i 

,, , the s*^ Will agreed with Bellmgham privately 

, ' y* he should be pit in Chancery & yt Wats & 

his wife as Defts should plead or Demurr to 

the Bill upon the Statute of 34 H. 8 Cap. 5 & then would agree 

& pay Ml' Bellingham one half part of the pfits of the Estate & 

after his decease the like to his daughter by a former Venter — 

Therefore Defts beleive yt that Hearing in Chancery was by 

agrcem* & think the will she made is a good will to settle the 

Estate as she hath appointed in her will upon the Infants & they 

in trust for them and thereby Defts think in their Conscience 

they ought not to decline their Trust reposed in them by the ]\Iar- 

riage Settlem* & say they are bound to see her AVill pformed & 

executed. And the Infants not being meneoned in that Bill or 

the Court being acquainted or made privy y* the Infants were to 

have the Estate beleive the Court will not Nullifie the s*? Will but 

Confirme & Settle the Trust in them. 

By means of w?^ Trust that Defts pretend to there is a Stop 

& an Objeccon put upon the Estate to discourage & dishearten scv- 

^'^^ [See SufT. Deeds, L. 30. f. G2 ; Cliamberlain MSS., i. 107, 113; SufT. 
Early Court Files, No fi940. Paper 5 for evidence that an airreenient was 
made with Dr. Samuel Bellingham April 25. 1G99. by whieh pnyments 
were made to his daughter; supra, p. 499, note 18; infra, pp. 581-583.] 



Chap. XII] APPENDIX 519 

^ „ oral Purchasors who live in New Engld & in London 

^ . , , who offer to buy the s*^ Estate but refuse the Same 
till Defts disclaime their right of Trust in & to them- 
selves & likewise to the Interest they claime on behalf of the In- 
fants named in the Will & all others wtsoever And to make the 
Title the more • obscure the Defts have also put a Stop to Pits 
from receiving the rents & pfits of the Estate & have sent Letters 
of Attorny into New Engld to their Agents to take & receive the 
rents of the Estate for & upon acco* of the s*^ Edw"? Wats ais Bel- 
lingham the Minor during his Nonage. 

ffor remedy of w^^ pits in Trinity Terme last Exhited their 
Bill of Comptt agt Defts but omitted to make the Infants Defts 
in the s'^ Bill, and Defts pmised they would answer fairly & make 
a full Disclaimer by w?"^ means the ObjeccT3ns y* any pson should 
make might be the better satisfied, If their Trust determined 
upon Solemnizacon of s<^ Marriage But quite contrary have drawn 
an Answer & Disclaimer denying as to themselves or to their own 
use or benefit they claime any thing out of the s*^ Estate but Insist 
if there be any such Deed or Deeds To then soe form Trust for 
any other pson or psons they would not p^'judice them or have 
any such pson p^'judiced Defts having heard there were such 
Deeds in Trust some how for the sole & sepate use of the s*^ Eliz. 
Bellingham And y* she has pusuant thereto made some Will by 
Vd th D ft ^'''^^ P^^^ ^^ Edw? & other psons are entitled to 
, , . the Estate in Bill menconed or some ijt thereof or 

I OCT A TmWPT* 

Something out of y^ same as p answer will appear " 

Then follow six questions, the seventh not appearing. On a 
separate sheet are seven questions substantially the same as those 
annexed to the Case, but more succinctly stated. Under each 
of these Cowper has written his answer, and signed his name 
thereto, 9 May, 1702. For convenience, I have added in brackets 
to the answers of Cowper, those of Counsellor Danyell found on 
a separate sheet, signed and dated 17 June, 1702.-" 

Qu. 1. Whether Defts Trust that vested in them before the 
Marriage took effect be not now determined. 

[Cowper] The conveyance to ye Trustees is not good in Law; 
but supposing it good '& y* y^ est. in Law vested in ye Trustees, 
J conceive, y* y^ Trust being limited to & for such pson as she by 
any writing Pporting to be her last will should appoint, & in ye 
meantime only in trust for her & her heirs; yo Trust subsists for 
ye benefit of those to who she has appointed it; her Ptended Will 
being good as an appointm* of ye Trust though not as a Will. 

^ Chamberlain MSS., i. 73, 75, 81, 83. 



520 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XII 

[Danyell] I conceive that the will is not determined by the Stat 
but the trust remaines. 

2. Whether p'^^ have not a legall Title to said estate & Jnhitance 
by vertue of Marriage Deeds of settlcmt Considering p'^ Rebecca 
was only sister & heiress to the sd Eliz : Bellinghani Notwithstand- 
ing the sd Will. 

[Cowper] This answd before. 

[Danyell] The pl^s haue no legall title to the p'^mises if the will 
stand in force but the same remaines in trustees. 

3. There are severall persons treating w*^^ p't^ to buy the Estate. 
How can p't^ make a good title & clear Objeccons 

[Cowper] This question is too general, but J do not see how 
3'e Jnfants claim under ye will can by any ordinary course of Law 
or Equity be cleared or bound during their minority, - nor other- 
wise than by Act of Parlt 

[Danyell] I cannot see the pl*^^ in themselves can make any 
legall title without the Judgm^ of the Court vpon the mariage 
settlem*^ 

4. The estate consists in divers ffarmes at Boston in New Eng- 
land & Defts as Trustees Confederating w*^ the ExV^ who are their 
Agents & alive in New England receive the rents of sd Estate 
under p^'tence of sd Trust & Will Whether proper for p't^ to im- 
power some friend in New England to bring an Ejectm* or 
Ejectm*^ ag^* the Pticular Tenants or what is the best way to 
recover possion of the p'"misses w*^^ the Tnistees or ExecF^ have 
reced or shall receive the Eents of, and in whose name must the 
Ejectmt^ be brought. 

[Cowper] If they are in poss? who are either not bound or not 
to be reached bye ye Decree; ye EJectm* must be according to ye 
forms of ye Colony & in ye name of such pson Lessor of ye P^ who 
has ye legal title, who for ought J see, is ye Heir of Samuel Bel- 
lingha, or himself if living. 

[Danyell] I cannot see that any Ejectm* can bee brought but 
in Trustees' names the pl*^ cannot bring any in his owne name 
but as heir at law in right of the wife but the settlem* will bee a 
barr if gduced & as there is a privity betwixt the Plxcc-'? & trustees 
of the settlem* tho concealed I beleive it w;ll haue little effect till 
settled in Chancery or by act of Parlemcnt 

5. Whether proper to amend Bill & make the Jnfants by a 
Nominall Guardian Defts w*^ the Trustees & ExV^ That thereby 
when Cause [is] heard the Judgm' of the Court may be known 
whether the Trustees Exec?^ & Jnfants have any property by 
vertue of Will Notw^^standing a ffeme Covert Or proper for a 
Bill to be brought by some Guardian for the Children ag?* the now 



Chap. XII] APPENDIX 521 

p't% Trustees & Exec^^ to have the Judgm*^ of the Court who has 
a legall right & title to the p''misses in queon. & thereby the valid- 
ity of the Will come to be determined 

[Cowper] You can have only a Decree nisi ag* ye Jnfants, & 
they will have time after they come of age to shew cause ag*^ any 
Decree obteyned ag*^ e'm during their Minority 

[Danyell] As to this & former questions the whole matter is not 
before the Court & the proper remedy to haue an end is for the 
Jnfant p Guardian to Exhibite a bill ag* pP^ trustees & other 
Exec^'^ & pduce the settlem'^ & take the opinion of the Court 

6. If the Court determine the Will to be Good by vertue of 
Marriage settlem* the Estate being wholly ffreehold Whether the 
Trustees shall have the power to take the_Eents & profitts thereof 
till the ]\Iinors come of age Or the Exec!'^ & Guardian named in 
the sd Will. 

[Cowper] I think ye Guardian, as ye Will is worded 
[Danyell] Whether the Court will direct the trustees or Exec'"^ 
to receive the rents or p;itts dureing minority J cannot determine 
for if the Court find^ any miscariage or abuse in them it will bee 
in Discretion to appoint another receiver 

7. If the Order jjass according to the Minutes contrary to p't^ 
Counsells Amendmt^ w* damage will it be to p't^, Or what det- 
rimt will it be to p"^ if Defts Counsell see the Marriage Deeds -* 

S^" Your Advice & hand is humbly desired hereto 

[Cowper] This is partly answd before, ye Da'-' will be in letting 
ye Defts Councill See ye Jnfants have an equitable right to ye 
Estate by virtue of ye appointm*^ of ye Trust made by Eliz : B. 

9* May. 1702. W-? Cowper. 

J cannot see that this order can any wise determine this cause 
let it passe either way but am of opinion that the Deed of Settlem* 
must bee pduced 

17 June 1703 Jo" Danyell. 

Indenture hetiveen Edivard Hull and John Shelton and 
Edward and Rebecca Watts.^^ 

Tins Indenture made the Fifth day of Septemb^ : in the first year 
of the Reign of Our Sovereign Lady Anne by the Grace of God 

"* [Hull and Shelton must have seen the deeds before they signed the 
conveyance of September 5, 1702, as it recites verbatim the indenture 
tripartite of April 16, 1695, which was recorded in Boston May 13, 
1702. A clause was inserted in the indenture of September 5, by which 
Edward and Rebecca Watts, whose signatures were also apjiended thereto, 

^ Suff. Deeds, L. 22, f. 120. 



522 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XII 

of England Scotland France & Ireland Queen Defender of the 
ffaith &c./ And in the year of our Lord One thousand Seven 
hundred and two/. Between Edward Hull Citizen and Haber- 
dasher of London & John Shelton Citizen and Sadler of London 
of the one part, — And Edward Watts of S*^. Botolphs Algate 
London Sawyer and Eebecca his Wife of the other part. Whereas 
by or by means of a Certain Indenture Tripartite bearing date 
on or about the Sixteenth day of April in the year of our Lord 
one thousand Six hundred Ninety five made or mentioned to be 
made, Between Samuel Bellingham late of the Parish of S^ Anns 
Westminster in the County of ]\Iiddx Esq"", deceased, Son and 
Heire of Eiehard Bellingham late of Boston in Massachusetts Bay 
in New England Esq^". deceased of the first part, Elizabeth then 
Savage of the said Parish of S*^ Anns Westminster Widow of the 
Second part, And the said Edward Hull and John Shelton of the 
third part, for and in Consideration of a Marriage then intended 
to be had and Solemnized between the s^. Samuel Bellingham and 
the said Elizabeth Savage & for a Competent and Sufficient main- 
teynance of the s*^. Elizabeth Savage in case the said intended 
Marriage should take effect, and in Pursuance of Certain ]\Iar- 
riage Articles bearing date on or about the thirtyeth day of March 
then last past, made or mentioned to be made between the said 
Samuel Bellingham of the first part, the said Elizabeth Savage of 
the Second part, and the s^. Edward Hull & John Shelton of the 
third part, The s*^. Samuel Bellingham Did grant bargain Sell 
alien release enfeoff & Confirm (or so mention to doe) unto the 
said Edward Hull and John Shelton & their Heirs All that Mes- 
suage parcel of Land or Tenement Scituate lying and being at 
a place or Town Called Wynnysymet within y^ Colony of Massa- 
chusetts Bay aforesaid, and then in the Tenure or occupation of 
one Kichard Smith or his Undertenants or Assignes, and sometimes 
Called Smiths Farme, And also one other Messuage parcel of 
Land or Tenement at Wynnysymet aforcs*^. then or late in the 
Tenure or Occupation of one Jeremiah Belcher his Under Tenants 
or Assigns And also one other Messuage or Tenement with th.e 
appur*^^^: at Wynnysymet afores^. then or late in the Tenure or 
Occupation of one Samuel Townsend or his Vndertenants, Jn 
which last mentioned Lands or Tenements one Penelope Belling- 
ham Mother in Law of the said Samuel Bellingham then had 
an Estate for life or some other Estate determinable by her 

gave Hull and Shelton a warranty to ' indemnify them for any costs, 
damages, suits, etc., which might inure by reason of the execution of that 
instrument.] 



Chap. XII] APPENDIX 523 

death. And also all those or that parcel or parcels of Land 
near the great pond of Enon in the Colony aforesaid Contain- 
ing by Estimation Eight hundred Acres more or less together 
^A'ith the same pond, And also one peice or parcel of Pasture 
Land containing two Acres more or less adjoining to Angeloes 
House, and near then one M^' : Colbornes Lands lying at the 
South End of the said Town of Boston, And also one peice or 
parcel of Land being a side of a Hill, adjoining to a Hill formerly 
belonging to one M^" : Cotton in the said Town of Boston And also 
one peice or parcel of Marsh Land adjoining to the Lands late 
then before of one James Everil in the said Town of Boston And 
also all the right title interest Estate claim and demand then of 
him the s^. Samuel Bellingham in and to One Messuage or Tenem* 
in the said Town of Boston formerly the Dwelling house of his 
said Father Eichard Bellingham and then or late in the possession 
of the said Penelope Bellingham together with all the Grounds 
Cellars Shops and other appurces whatsoev'". thereunto apper- 
taining or belonging And all & Singular other the Messuages 
Farmes Lands grounds Tenements & hereditaments whatsoever 
then of him the said Samuel Bellingham in possession reversion 
remaind^". or Expectancy or whereof or wherein he the s'^. Samuel 
Bellingham then had any Estate of Freehold or Jnheritance in 
possession or Eeversion Scituate lying & being in or near the s*^. 
Town of Boston or in the said Province or Colony of Massachu- 
setts Bay or Else where in Her Majestyes Territory and Domin- 
ion of New England Together with all woods wood grounds waters 
Ferryes rights royalties and Jurisdictions whatsoever to the s*^. 
Messuages Lands Farms and premisses belonging or in any wise 
appertaining And the Eeversion and reversions remainder & 
remainders rents issues and profits of all and Singular the premisses 
And also all the Estate right title interest benefit trust claim and 
demand whatsoev^'. both in Law & Equity then of him the said 
Samuel Bellingham of in and out of the premisses and every part 
and parcel thereof To have and io hold the said Messuages 
Farmes Lands Tenements and Hereditaments, and all & Singular 
the premisses with their Appur<^<^^: unto and to & for the use of 
the said Edward Hull and John Shelton their Heirs and Assignes 
forever upon the Trusts and to the intents and purposes therein- 
aftermentioncd Expressed and Declared That is to say In Trust 
for the s*^. Samuel Bellingham and his Heirs untill the said 
Marriage should be had & Solemnized and from and after the 
Solemnization thereof Then in Trust for such person and persons 
and their Pleirs for such Estate and Estates, & in such manner and 
form as the s*^. Elizabeth Savage whether Sole or Married, and as 



524 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XII 

well Sole as Marryed with or without the Consent of her Husband 
should by any Writing or Writings or by her Last Will & Testa- 
ment in writing, or any writing purporting her Last Will & Tes- 
tament to be by her Signed and Sealed in the presence of three or 
more Credible Witnesses at any time or times Name direct Limitt 
or appoint, and for want of such Nomination direction limitation 
or appointment and untill some such direction Limitation or 
appointment should be made and take Effect. In Trust for and 
for the Sole and Seperate benefit of the s*^. Elizabeth Savage her 
heirs and Assigns without any controle or intermedling of the said 
Samuel Bellingham and to or for no other use trust intent or 
purpose whatsoever And that the said Edward Hull and John 
Shelton should imploy and dispose of the rents issues and profits 
of the s*^. p^'misses & every part and parcel of them in such manner 
as the said Elizabeth Savage by any writing under her hand should 
direct and appoint, as by the said Jndenture Tripartite relation 
being thereunto had, cloth and may more fully and at large appear 
And Whereas soon after the making and Executing of the said 
Jndenture Tripartite the said Marriage was had and Solemnized 
between the said Samuel Bellingham and y® s^. Eliz^ (both of 
whome are lately dead) And Whereas since the death of the said 
Samuel Bellingham and the said Elizabeth, the s*^. Edward Watts 
and Eebecca his Wife that is to say, in or about Trinity terme, 
which was in the year of our Lord one thousand Seven hundred 
did Exhibit their Bill in the High Court of Chancery against 
the said Edward Hull & John Shelton touching the premisses, 
alledging the said Rebecca Watts was Sister & heir to the s^. 
Elizabeth Bellingham dece^ and that the said Edward Hull and 
John Shelton were willing to quit their Trust, but could not be 
discharged therefrom without the decree of the said Court, and 
praying the premisses might be Conveyed to them the said Edward 
Watts and Eebecca Watts, and upon hearing the said cause on 
or about the Sixth day of Dec^. now last past. It was by the Right 
j^Qj^bie the Lord Keeper of the Great Scale of England, amongst 
other things Ordered and decreed, that the said Edward Hull 
and John Shelton should be discharged from their Trust and 
Execute a Conveyance of the premisses to the s^. Edward Watts 
and Rebecca his Wife Plantiffs in the said cause according to the 
Settlement made upon the Marriage of the said Samuel Belling- 
ham with the said Elizabeth (meaning such aforesaid) And that 
they should hold & Enjoy the Estate accordingly. And for what 
they the s^. John Shelton and Edward Hull should doe in pur- 
suance thereof they were thereby Saved harmless and indempni- 
fyed. As by the said Order and decree (relation being thereunto 



Chap. XII] APPENDIX 525 

had) doth and may more fully and at large appear Now this In- 
denture Witnesseth that they the said Edward Hull and John 
Sholton in Pursuance of and in Obedience to the aforesaid Order 
and decree, as also for discharging of their said Trust, and for 
and in Consideration of the Sum of Five Shillings of Lawfull 
money of England to them in hand paid by the s*^. Edward Watts 
and Rebecca his Wife at and before the Sealing and Delivery of 
these presents, the receipt whereof they the said Edward Hull and 
John Shelton doe hereby acknowledge Have granted bargained 
Sold Enfeoffed released Transferred and Confinned, and by these 
presents Doe by and with the Consent and direction of the said 
Edward Watts, Tcstifyed by his being a party unto, and Signing 
& Sealing these presents, grant bargain Sell enfeoff release trans- 
ferr and Confirm to the said Edward Watts and Eebecca his Wife 
all and Sing-ular the abovementioned or meant to have been Con- 
veyed Messuages Farms Lands Tenements hereditaments and prem- 
isses with their and every of their appur^*^^: As also all and 
Singular other Messuages Farmes Lands grounds Tenements and 
Hereditaments whatsoever Conveyed or meant to be Conveyed by 
the s*^. Samuel Bellingham unto the said Edward Hull and John 
Shelton in the said Colony of Massachusetts Bay or Elsewhere in 
her Maj*^'*^^ Territory and Dominion of New England And the 
Eeversion and Reversions remainder and remainders rents issues 
and profits of all and Singular the premisses, And Furthermore 
All and all manner of Estate right title trust use claim and de- 
mand whatsoever both in Law & Equity, which they the said 
Edward Hull & John Shelton each or either of them have hath 
or shall may should or ought to have or have had of to in by 
from or out of all every and any of the premisses or any part or 
parts thereof by Virtue or means of the said recited Indenture 
tripartite or Otherwise howsoever To have and to hold all and 
Singular the hereby granted bargained Sold Enfeoffed released 
transferred & Confirmed premisses with their and every of their 
Appurces to and to and for the use of the said Edward Watts and 
Rebecca Watts and her heirs and Assignes in as full ample large 
and beneficial manner & upon to and for the same uses Trusts 
intents and purposes as they the said Edward Hull and John 
Shelton or either of then\ have hold and Enjoy or should or ought 
to have had held and Enjoyed the same upon or by Virtue or 
means of the said Recited Jndenture Tripartite, & to and for no 
other use trust intent or purpose whatsoever And the said Edward 
Hull doth for himself his heirs Execute''^ and Adminisf^. & every 
of them by these presents Covenant promise & agree to and with 
the said Edward Watts and Rebecca his Wife & her heirs and 



526 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XII 

Assigns That he the said Edward Hull hath not any wise here- 
tofore made done or Committed any Act matter or thing whatso- 
ev*". in breach of the Trust vested in him & the said John Shelton 
or either of them as afors^. by reason or means whereof all or 
any of the recited premisses or any part or parcel of them is are 
or can or may be Evicted charged incumbered or Impeached in 
Estate title charge or otherwise howsoever And the said John 
Shelton doth for himself his heires Execute"^"®. & Adm'"^. and 
every of them by these p^'snts Covenant promise and agree to & 
with the said Edward Watts and Rebecca his Wife and her 
heirs & Assigns that he the said John Shelton hath not any wise 
heretofore made done or committed any Act Matter or thing 
whatsoever in breach of the Trust vested in him the said John 
Shelton and Edward Hull or either of them as aforesaid, by reason 
or means whereof all or any of the recited premisses or any part 
or parcel of them is are or can or may be Evicted charged incum- 
bred or impeached in Estate title charge or otherwise howsoev''. 
And the s*^. Edward Watts for himself his heirs Execute*"^. & Ad- 
min'"^, and every of them doth by these presents Covenant and grant 
to & with the said Edward Hull and John Shelton and each or 
either of them and their Several and Eespective heires Execute''^, 
and Admin''^. that they the said Edward Watts and Rebecca Watts 
and his her and their Several & respective heirs Execute'"^. Ad- 
min^'^. and Assigns or some of them shall and will from time to 
time, and at all times hereafter well & Sufficiently Jndempnifie and 
save harmless them the s,^. Edward Hull and John Shelton & each 
or either of them their & each of their Several and respective heirs 
Exe""^. & Admin''®, of and from all and all manner of process 
Suit trouble Expence charge & damage whatsoever which here- 
after shall or may accrue and happen to them or either or any of 
them for & by reason of the said Edward Hull & John Shelton 
his their or either of their respective making & Executing these 
presents, Saving and Excepting their respective Covenants herein 
beforcmentioned & Contained against their respective Jncum- 
brances Acts and Deeds Jn Witness whereof the part3^es first 
abovenamed to these present Jndentures have interchangeably set 
their hands & Seals the day and year first abovewritten, Edw*^. Hull 
and a Seal Jn°. Shelton and a Seal Edward Watts & a Seal Rebecca 
02, Watts her mark & a Seal Sealed and Delivered (being first 
duly Stampt) m the presence of Rich"^ : Foster. Bryan Smith, 
John Foye Juni": Suffolk ss. Boston May 8*^ : 1703. The above- 
named Richard Foster personally appearing before me the Sub- 
scriber one of Her Maj*'^® Justices of y^ Peace in the County 
aforesaid made Oath that he was p^'seut & saw the withinnamed 



CuAP. XII] APPENDIX 527 

Edward Hull and John Shelton with Edward Watts and Rebecca 
his Wife Sign Seal and deliver the withinwritten Jnstrnment as 
their Act & Deed and that he the Deponant together with Bryan 
Smith & John Foye Jun'" : abovenientioned sett to their Names as 
Witnesses thereto -. Paul Dudley. - Suffolke ss - Memorandum 
That on the Twenty third day of June Anno Doin 1703 at Wyn- 
nysymct within the Township of Boston in the County aforesaid 
peaceable and quiet possession and Seizen of the Several Mes- 
suages Lands Tenements and Appurtenances within Specifyed and 
mentioned to be in Wynnysymet afores*^. was made & delivered 
by Xathaniel Xewdigate Attorney to the withinnamed Edward 
Hull and John Shelton to Joseph Hiller Attorney to the within- 
named Edward Watts and Eebecca his Wife according to the Ten- 
ure and true meaning of the withinwritten Jndenture - And on the 
day following Viz*: the Twenty fourth day of June 1703, quiet 
and peaceable possession and Seizen of the Several Lands Tenem*^. 
]\[essuages & appur^*"^: within Specifyed and mentioned to be 
within the Town of Boston afores*^. was made given and Delivered 
by the said Nathaniel Newdigate Attorney as aforesaid to the 
afores**. Joseph Hiller as Attorney to the aforesaid Edward AVatts 
and Eebecca his Wife according to the Tenure and true mean- 
ing of the withinwritten Jndenture/ Jn the presence of us 
whose names are hereunto Subscribed. Paul Dudley Joseph 
Hiller Jun'" :/. Witness to the Livery and Seizen of that in Boston 
besides tbe abovenamcd Benj^. Elliot. /- Suffolk ss. At an Ad- 
journment of an Inferiour Court of CoiTion Pleas holden at Boston 
on the first Tuesday of February 1704. [1705] John Foye Jun"". 
One of the Witnesses to the withinwritten Jnstrument personally 
appearing made Oath y*. he was present & did see the Subscribers 
thereof Edward Hull John Shelton Edward Watts and Rebecca 
Watts Execute the same as their Act and Deed, and that he the 
Depon*. and Richard Foster and Br}'an Smith Subscribed their 
Names as Witnesses of the Execution thereof at the same time/- 
Attesf: Addington- Davenport Clcr/- February 9*^. 1704. Re- 
ceived & accordingly Entred and Examined. - 

P. Addixgtox Davenport. Resist^: 



528 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIII 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE BELLIXGHAM WILL CASE KEOPEXED 

CHAPTER ten shows an apparently deadly assault on 
Governor Eellingliain's will by his son and heir, Dr. 
Samuel Bellingham, living in England,^ and acting by his 
attorney, Richard Wharton. This was by petition to the 
General Court in 167-i,^ and resulted adversely to the respond- 
ents, the executors and trustees under the will. The General 
Court was the highest judicial tribunal in the colony. From 
its decisions there was no appeal; for there was not then, 
as now, a supreme court authorized to settle the constitution- 
ality of legislative acts. The Great and General Court had 
the diverse powers of making and interpreting laws ; and after 
its mandates all other courts kept silence, although, as in this 
case, they were contrary to usage, and even to positive law.^ 
By usage original jurisdiction over wills and administra- 
tion on estates was vested in the county courts, with appeal 
to the General Court.^ But in the case of Samuel Belling- 
ham vs. James Allen and others the plaintiff began by peti- 
tion in the highest court. This was irregular if not illegal, 
and the General Court at once should have sent the plaintiff 

^ [Ramuel Bellingham was on the Continent in 1G74.] 

'^ Supra, pp. 441-447. 

' Mass. Col. Laws (revision of 1672), 157. 

* [Richard Wharton entered a protest at the probate of Governor Bel- 
lingham's will, December 19. 1672. His protest was disregarded. {Supra, 
pp. 410, 411.) Suits involving the validity of the will were tried in the 
County Court, and appealed to the Court of Assistants. The latter accepted 
the will as valid. (Supra, p. 425, note 13; pp. 439, 440.) Apparently no 
provision was made by law (edition of 1672 Title " Appeals ") for an appeal 
to the General Court except in capital offences. \Yhen Richard Wharton 
petitioned the General Court in 1674 he acted in accord with a provision of 
the law (edition of 1672, Title " Courts," § 1) that the General Court was 
" the chief Civil Power," and might act " both in matters of Counsel, make- 
ing of Lawes, and matters of Judicature ... by receiving and hearing any 
Complaints orderly presented against any person or Court." See also the 
reference to the General Assembly in the King's letter, supra, p. 445.] 



Chap. XIII] THE CASE REOPENED 529 

to the County Court. And such, indeed, appears to have been 
the first order ; ^ but for some unexplained reason it after- 
wards entertained and decided the question of the validity of 
the will, irrespective of proceedings in the County Court, if 
such were instituted. This irregularity entailed upon the 
parties in interest, and later upon the town of Chelsea, a series 
of expensive lawsuits which lasted more than a century. 

Thirty years after, in February, 1705, the contest was 
renewed by Rev. James Allen, one of the executors and trus- 
tees under Bellingham's will. The long delay in reopening the 
case may have been because Mrs. Bellingham, the governor's 
\\idow, was still alive ; but on her death in 1702 the residuary 
interest of the trustees in the Bellingham estates at Winnisim- 
mct, if any, arose.^ James Allen was an able man, an English- 
man, and Fellow of Xew College, Oxford. . Having been 
ejected from his living on the restoration of Charles II., he 
came to Boston in 1662, and was colleague-pastor with Daven- 
port of the First Church, lately under the })astoral charge of 
Rev. Rufus Ellis, D.D. He was a friend of education, and for 
some time a member of the corporation of Harvard College. 
With Governor Bellingham he was intimate, since the gover- 
nor gave him his will for safe keeping, and explained to him 
the motives which led to the making of that singular instru- 
ment."^ A devoted friend of religion he was doubtless grieved 
that the Bellingham estates, instead of being used to set up 
and maintain religious institutions at Winnisimmet, as the 
old governor intended, w^ere perverted to the enrichment of 
aliens not of the governor's blood, the Watts family. Five 
years before his death in 1710, Allen made a gallant effort 
to set up the will. His story, best told by himself, leads to 
the second stage of the controversy in the General Court, in 
1705. 

To his Excellency Joseph Dudley Esq'": Cap* Generall and Gov- 
ernour in Chief, in and over her Maj*'?^ Province of the 

° .S'wpm, pp. 442, [44.3, note 7]. 

" [See supra, p. 400, note 13.] 

' He ^vas installed teacher of the First Church, December 9, 1668, "at 
the same time that Davenport was inducted as its pastor." He died 
September 22, 1710. John Dunton says of him: "He is very humble and 
very rich, and can be generous enough when the humour is upon him." 
Foote, Annals of King's Chapel, i. Go. 
VOL. I. — 34 



530 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIII 

Massachussetts Bay; in Councill; and to the hon^'*^ house of 
Representatives now in Generall Court assembled 
The Remonstrance and Petition of James Allen of Boston in the 
County of Suffolke within the s*^ Province Clerk; surviving 
ffeoft'ee in Trust and Execut^. of the last will & Testament 
of the late hon^'^ Richard Bellingham Esq^". dee^. 
Most humbly Shew^^^. 

That the said Richard Bellingham dj'ed seized in fTee, of a very 
considerable Estate, of houses & lands in the s*^ County of Suffolke; 
& in and by his last will & Testament, bearing date y^ 28*^ Nov"". 
1673, disposed thereof as followth. (That is to say), he gaue 
to his beloved wife, the rent of that ffarme where Nicholas Rice 
then lived [the Shurtleff farm], to be paid her duly after his 
decease; as alsoe his dwelling hous with the yard & field adjoin- 
ing, during her naturall life : To his only Son & his sons daughter, 
during their natural lives the Testato''. gave the ffarme Liev'. 
John Smith then possessed [the Ferry farm] : and the Rents 
of his other two ffarmes in the occupation of John Belcher & 
Goodman Townsend [the Carter and the Carey farms], he gives 
towards the relief of the four Daughters of Coll Goodrick; and 
declares that after his owne & his wifes decease, he gives the ffarme 
he had devised to her for life, & after the decease of his son & 
his sons daughter, his whole Estate in Winnisimett, to be an. 
ailual Encouragmt to some Godly Ministers & preachers, as should 
by his Trustees be judged faithfull to those principles in Church 
Discipline owned & practised in the first Church of Christ in 
Boston, whereof the Testator declared himself e to be a member: 
And in his said will did request & appoint M"". John Oxenbridge, 
your Pet^. M"". John Russell, and M^'. Anthony Stoddnrd, to be 
ffeoffees in trust & Executors thereof; and thereby did desire them 
to observe the Jnstruccons therein given. Viz*, ffirst That in 
Convenient time a ministers, & meeting house be built at Winni- 
simett when sufficient be received out of the rents (2) That 
Lotts for dwellers & Jnhabitants be given out, & Conveniency 
of land to the Ministers house. (3) That four or six more 
or less young students be brought vp for the Ministry as the 
Estate will bear. (4) That som thing be allowed yearly to any 
Godly Congregational Minister who shall be willing to settle in 
that place. (5) That his Trustees, take care of his i)eloved wife 
to give her Counsell as she needed, and help her as farr as they 
could, in the quiet Enjoym*. of her Estate. & receiving of hor Rent 
(G) That the Trustees meet twice a year at the least, as often else 
as they can or is need and that they be allowed what is m^et for 
each meeting ( 7 ) That they allow aiiually as they shall think fitt 



CiiAP. XIII] THE CASE REOPENED 531 

to a Godly Congregational Minister, qualified as above, for his 
further Suj^port (8) That Every Quarter of the year one sermon 
be preached to instruct the people in Boston in Church Discipline 
according to the word of God, and such Competent allowance be 
given to each of y™. as his Trustees shall judge fitt or sufficient. 

vi le Y<^ "Will ^^ ^^ ^ ^y ^^^^ ^'^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^ Testam' of y^ s<^ Tes- 
tator, very well proved according to Law & herew*'^. 
exhibitted doth more fully & at large appear. 

That soon afterwards your Pef. Mess^"? Oxenbridge & Stoddard 
took vpon them the Charge and burthen of the said will, and did 
Execute, vntil the same was contested by M"". Eich*^ Wharton as 
Attorny to ]\P". Samuell Bellingham, at a Generall Court Es- 
,, pecially called in Sepf". 1676, when the same was 

^ . n t declared null & void in Law: w^^ Judgm*. or 
^ *= decree of that Espetial hon*''*^ Court, (with most 

humble submission) was Erroneous. (1^*^) Because That Court, 
at that tyme had not the Jurisdicion or Cognizance of wills ; 
but the County Court only. (2) That the will was really and 
hond fide the last will & testam*. of the s^ Eich*' Bellingham 
deceased and so proved to be; and not all the English Laws 
could sett aside, or Controul such a will : The Maxim in Law is. 
That the will of the Giver must be observed That faith & truth 
must be obeyed & what the last will does say, and Every man 
is a Law to himselfe as to the disposition of his owne Estate. & 
property. &c^ 

That by means of that Judgm*. yo^ Pef. is vtterly disabled to 
performe the will, & his incumbent duty: and the pious & Ee- 
ligious intentions of the Testator (long made known before his 
death) are thereby wholly frustrate & without effect; and the 
Estate now possess*^, or claim'd by strangers, & persons not of the 
blood of the s^ Eichard Bellingham; his s^^ widdow & sonn being 
both dead. 

Yor Petr therefore humbly intreats your Ex^^ and this hon^'® 
Court, to assigne a day when he & the opposite partyes Concerned, 
may by their Council be heard to argue the matt^^. of Law. refer- 
ring to the s"^. Will, and then your Pef. cannot doubt but this 
hon*^'^ Court, will reverse the s*^ former judgm* and by Act 
or Decree Enable him, faithfully to discharge his duty, according 
to Law, and the pious designe of his Testator. James Allen. 

In the House of I?epresentatives. 
Feb: 22 : 1704 [1705] Eead 

23. Ordered y^ The Praier of this Petition be Granted, 
and a Hearing Attended the 2^ Wednesday of the Ses- 



532 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIII 

sion of this Court in May next, the opposite Parties con- 
cerned to be notified. 
Sent up for Concurrence. Jam? Converse Speaker 

Feb'-J- 23tb 1704 [1705] In Council. 

licad, and not agreed with the Representatives in the 
above Vote, And Voted That the persons chiiming the 
Estate be forthwith Served with a Copy of this Petition, 
And that they make their objections and shew cause, 
if any they have, on Friday in y® first weeke of the next 
Session of this Court why a hearing of the case therein 
mentioned as is therein prayed for should not be granted. 
Sent down for concurrence. J^^ Addington Secfy 

In the House of Representatives, 
Feb!-y 23 : 1704 [1705] : Read & 

Pass'd a Concurrence. Jam^. Converse Speaker. 
1705 June 1 9 Read In the House of Representatives. 

Ordered That the Praier of this Petition be Granted, & 
a Hearing Attended, forthwith, if both Parties are pre- 
pared for it otherwise on the next Tuesday at 3 o clock 
afternoon 

Sent up" for Concurrence Thomas Oakes Speaker 

The Ansiver of Edward Watts to the foregoing Petition 

To his Excellency Joseph Dudley. Esq"": Cap^ General and Gov- 
erned', in Chief in and over her Maj*'^^. Province of the j\[assa- 
chusetts Bay in New England the Hono^'®. her Maj''*^^ Council 
and House of Representatives now in General assembly con- 
vened in and for sd Province, may 30*^. 1705. 
The Answer of Edward Watts of the City of London ]\rerch*. and 
Rebecca his wife Claimers owners & possessors of the Estate 
formerly Richard Bellinghams Esq^". Deced, to a Petition of 
James Allen of Boston Clerk. 
Sheweth 

That true it is, as the Petitioner setts forth That Richard 
Bellingham late of Boston a fores'^ Esq^". Deced, dyed seised of a 
very Considerable Estate in Houses and Lands, and there was also 
a sort of a last will & Testament to the purport of what the peti- 
tioner setts forth, which was pretended to be the sd Bellingham's, 
tho for very wise and just Reasons declared and adjudged to be 
void and of none Effect by the General Court of this Country 
Anno 1676. the Judgment of which Court yo^". Respondent hopes 



Chap. XIII] THE CASE REOrENED 533 

this great and General Assembly will not suffer now to be called 
in Question, much less Kevers'd, and therefore yo"". Respondent 
oi^poses the petitioners being heard vpon his Petition, and whereas 
yof Petitioner in his first Reason saith That that Court at that 
time had not the Jurisdiction or Cognizance of Wills but the 
County Court only. Yo'*. Respondent answers, That true it is, the 
County Courts at that time had the Cognizance of Wills &^: But 
from whence did they derive it, but from the General Court, who 
therefore had power in extraordinary Cases when they saw occasion 
to Exert that power themselves, it being too great a thing for any 
Jnferiour Court to make void a Will that might have the Common 
proof attending of it: oinne majus coniinet in se minus, is a 
known Rule in Law,® Besides, this pretended Will of M'". Belling- 
hams had I^aboured so long in the Jnferio'". Courts without any 
Effect or Jssue, That the General Court were Resolved to take 
it into their own hands, & make a final Jssue thereof, especially 
having directions so to do from y*^ Crown of England, and with 
all submission yo'". Respondent humbly offers, that the General 
Court under the first Charter, except in some few things had the 
same powers and authority that the present General Assembly 
hath, as being the supreme and Legislative power of the Country. 
3 Whereas the Petitioner urges, that the s*^ Will was really 
and honci fide the last Will and Testament of y*^ sd Richard Belling- 
ham Esq'", deeed and so prov'd to be and not all the English Laws 
could sett aside or Controul such a Will. Yo**. Respondent answers. 
(1) That there are many things absolutely Necessary to make a 
last Will and Testament good according to Law, for tho the sd 
Bellingham might towards his Death sign that Jnstrument called 
his Will, yet if he were then non Compos, and understood not 
what he did, but managed and Jmposed on by others, or if the 
Writing it self had not the nature of a Will in it, the General 
Court had very great and good Reason for what they did. 

(2) It shall not now be with the Petitioner to say the sd will 
was a good Will &^. when a General Court has passed upon it 

* This is bad law. and the maxim that the greater always contains the 
less is misapplied. I discover no trace in the Inferior Court Records that 
the questions raised by the will had been passed upon, or that anj' attempt 
was made to carry out the order of the General Court of October 7, 1074. 
[See supra, p. 425, note 13 and pp. 429-440; and note 4 to this chapter; 
also p. 443, note 7.] Six months later, May 12, 1675, the case was 
again before the General Court, and neither then nor afterwards was any 
allusion of record to any action on the case in the court below. Nor have 
I found any mandate from the Crown directing the General Court to enter- 
tain and determine the case ; but tlie statement in the petition serves to 
establish the fact as given by Richard Wharton, ante. [See the letter from 
the King, supra, chap. x. p. 444.] 



534 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIII 

and determined it to be no Will ; and that no donbt with due 
regard to the Laws of England; and with a just value of Last 
Wills and Testaments. 

3. Yo'". Respondent opposes the hearing of this matter for the 
great Jnconveniency of it (1) Jn General, That the Acts of the 
General Courts of this Country, should after so long a time be 
reexamin'd or Revers'd. 

(2) If or that since this Judgment of the General Court in 
1676. there have been so many purchases Mortgages and Con- 
veyances of that Estate, that an unspeakable mischief and 
Confusion would Ensue now to Reverse it. 

4. Yo^'. Respondent prays it may be Consider'd how strange 
& unreasonable it will be for this great and General Assembly 
to raise a Will to Life again that has been buryed near thirty 
Years: or rather in truth to make a Will at this day, for the sd 
M"". Bellingham. for no doubt of it, the petitioner in the day of it 
made the strongest Efforts that could be made to support the Will, 
& yet all fail'd., & certainly if his proof would not serve him then, 
it can never be supposed to do so now. 

5. Yo^. Respond', opposes a hearing for that the Petitioner 
really petitions that a Will be made for the sd Bellingham, for 
he prays for a power to dispose of his Estate so, & so, whereas in 
the very Jnstrumen^ which the petitioner would have a Will, M'': 
Bellingham devises not one jot of his Estate to his ffeoffees nor 
could they by Law (had that Will stood to this Day) ever have 
medled with any of the real Estate of M^. Bellingham without 
the Consent of his heir at Law. 

6 ffor that by the Law of this Province now in being for the 
Quieting of men's Possessions, not only all Actions in Courts of 
Law, but also all Processes are forbidden after the time limitted 
by that Act, and Yo"". Respondents and those they Claim under 
having been at all times in the peaceable possession of the sd 
Estate, therefore hope this great and General Assembly will sup- 
port and maintain their own Laws, by allowing no further pro- 
ceeding in this matter. And vpon the Whole yo^". Respondents 
hope This great and General Assembly will do that Justice and 
Hono^. to the former General Court of this Country as to Ratify 
and Confirm their Judgment in reference to Mr : Bellingham's 
pretended Will by Dismissing the petitioner. 

and yo'" Respondent shall ever pray 

Boston. 1. June.' 1705. ' Paul Dudley ^ 

Present^ pro Respondentibus. 

* Paul Dudley [H. C. 10001, attorney for the respondents, Avas a son of 
Governor Joseph Dudley, studied law at the Temple, London, was attorney- 



Chap. XIII] THE CASE REOrENED 535 

Friday, pr? June. 1705. Jn Council Eead. 

In the House of Eepresentatives 

June 1? 1705 Read, twice 

June 14 : Ordered That a previous Hearing be Attended before 

this Court, on this answer & MF Allen Serv'd with a Copy thereof 

the Board to appoint the time. 

Sent up for Concurrence Thomas Oakes Speaker 

June 20th. i^qS. Jn Council 

Eead and on the Question put, It was carryed in the 
Negative Js?^ Addington Secry 

The two preceding papers are to be found in the Massachu- 
setts Archives.^*' The minutes appended to the "foregoing 
papers show the legislative action of the two houses thereon. 
They were afterwards extended on the records of the General 
Court; and as these contain some additional facts of interest, 
I now give them entire, though there are some repetitions. 

Extracts from the General Court Records 

February 23, 170-1 [1705] " A Petition & Eemonstrance of 
James Allen Clerk surviving Feoffee in Trust & Executor of the 
last Will & Testament of the late Hon:^'^ Eichard Bellingham 
EsqF Praying to be heard upon a Judgement of the General Court 
Sitting in September 1676, declaring the said Will null & void. 
Was sent up from the Eepresentatives ^- with the Vote of that 
House thereupon; Viz, That the Prayer of the Petition be granted, 
And a Hearing attended upon the second Wednesday of the Ses- 
sion of this Court in May next. 

general, and finally chief -justice of the highest court of the ProA'ince. He 
was a learned naturalist, and a Fellow of the Royal Society. By will he 
founded the Dudleian Lectures at Harvard. 

'" Vol. xvii. pp. 150-154. [The original documents with the official en- 
dorsements.] In several instances I have not found the documents pre- 
sented to the General Court, or the orders passed thereon, either extended 
on the records or preserved in the Archives at the State House, and several 
now printed owe their preservation to the copies made ( from originals now 
lost) for the use of parties in court, and in some cases passed into private 
hands. These papers are printed in Acts and Resolves of the Province of 
the Mass. Bay (1895), viii. 404, G05. There are two copies of the records 
of the General Court at the State House, though not always identical in 
date or pagination, — one in the office of the Secretary of State and the 
other in the State Library. 

" [This note has been placed as an appendix to this chapter.] 
" [These extracts are from the Council Records; no record of the pro- 
ceedings in the House of Representatives now exists.] 



536 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIII 

\ych being read, The Council disagreed with the Representatives 
in y? Vote, 

And Voted that the Person claiming the said Estate be forth- 
with served with a Copy of the Petition, And that they make their 
Objections and shew Cause if any they have on Fryday in the first 
Week of the next Session of this Court, Why a Hearing of the 
Case therein mentioned, as is therein prayed for, should not be 
granted. 
. And was Concur'd by the House of Representatives.^^ 

In the Council, Friday, June 1, 1705." An Answer to the 
Petition of James Allen Clerk for a Hearing upon a Judgement 
given by the General Court Anno 1676, for Making void & null 
the Jnstrilment said to be the last Will of the late Richard Belling- 
ham Esq? Dec? Containing Objections to a Hearing of the Case 
according to an Order at the last Session, was presented Read & 
sent down to the Representatives. . . . 

The Petition of James Allen for a Hearing upon a Judgement 
given for the Nulling the Instrument said to be the Will of 
Richard Bellingham EsqV was sent up from the Representatives, 
with their Vote thereupon. Viz, That the Prayer of the Petition 
be granted, & a Hearing be forthwith attended if the Parties be 
ready, or otherwise on Tuesday next*: — Upon Reading whereof 
& Debate thereon, A Message was sent by Elisha Hutchinson, John 
Foster, Penn Townsend Esq!'^ & the Secfy. to the Representatives, 
to lay before that House the Consideration how far it is proper 
for this Court to enter into that Cause, The whole Matter referring 
to Wills & Instruments &c by the present Charter being in the 
Government of the Governour & Council, And the Judgement now 
petition'd to be reversed being of near thirty Years standing under 
another Constitution, The Members of that Court & the Persons 
concerned being almost all dead. The Alterations since made of 
the Estate & the Statute of Limitation having Effect, Besides the 
Train of Consequences attending the Unravelling of Matters 
determined by the Supream Court within the Government at that 
Time.i^ 

June 20, 1705. Upon Reading a Vote pass'd in the House of 
Representatives ^'^ Ordering That there be a previous Hearing 
before this Court on the Answer made to M? Aliens Petition refer- 

" MSS. Records of the General Court (1703-1709), 107, 108. 

^* [March 3, 1704/5, the General Court was dissolved; May 30, 1705, a 
new Court met.] 

" MSS. Records as above, 120. 

" [For this vote of the House, June 14, see the endorsement on the 
Answer of Edward Watts, supra, p. 535.] 



Chap. XIII] THE CASE REOPENED 537 

ring to Mr Bellinghams Will, M? Allen to be served with a Copy 
thereof, And the Board to appoint the Time. 

The Question being put for a Concurrence, It was carried in the 
Negative.^^ 

Thursday, July 4, lv06.^^ A Eemoxstrance & Petition of 
James Allen Clerk, Surviving Feoffee in Trust & Executor of the 
last Will & Testament of Richard Bellingham Esqr Dec*? Praying to 
be heard as to the jMatters of Law referring to a Judgem* given by 
a former Gen" Court in the Year 1676, Declaring the said Will 
null & void, Sent up from the Representatives with the Order of 
that House for a Hearing thereon at the next Session of this 
Court, were Read, & The following Yote pass'd thereon; Viz, 

Bkfoee the Council proceed to Consider the above Vote of the 
Representatives 

Ordered that the Adverse Party be served with a Copy of the 
Petition, To shew Cause if any [they] have, Why a Hearing should 
not be granted, Sent down for Concurrence, & Agreed to by the 
Represent^?^ ^» 

Saturday, July 13, 1706. A Yote pass'd in the House of Repre- 
sent^T'^ upon the Petition of Mr Allen, referring to Mr Bellinghams 
AYill, Reviving their former Yote granting a Hearing on that 
Matter: Was Read, & Disagreed to.-" 

[Tuesday, August 27, 1706. The Petition of Mr James Allen 
with Reference to the Will of Richard Bellingham EsqV late Gov- 
ernour, and the Order of the Representatives thereon were 
Read.21] 

Thursday, August 29, 1706. The Petition of Mr James Allen 
with Reference to the Will of Richard Bellingham Esq?" with the 
Order of the Represent^f^ for Granting a Hearing thereon was 
read, & on the Question put, Was Disagreed.-^ 

Tuesday, September 3, 1706. A Resolve pass'd this Day in the 
House of Representatives upon the Petition of Mr James Allen ; 
Viz, That the Will of the late Rich^ Bellingham Esqr refer'd to 
in the Petition was legally proved, Being Read at the Board. & 
Voted that the annex'd Print ^^ being a very faulty Copy, & with- 

" MSS. Records as above, 134. [June 30 the court was prorogued to 
September 5.] 

" [During the year's lull in this contest the inhabitants of Winnisim- 
niet and Rumney Marsli presented to the annual town meeting in Boston 
a petition for a meeting-house. Infra, chap. x.xvi.] 

'" MSS. Records as above, 215. 

^ Ibid., 223. [July 13 the General Court was prorogued until August 7.] 

" Ihid., 238. 

" Ibid., 239. 

^ [See infra, p. 540.] 



538 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XTII 

out the Attestation of an Officer, ought not to be received or, Con- 
sidered by the Court: And further Considering that the Probate 
of ^^'ills & Testaments is by the Charter vested in the Governour 
& Council, The Council therefore Disagree to the Vote of the 
Kepresenta fives.-* 

Wednesday, November 6, 17.06. A Petition of Mr James Allen 
Executor of the last Will of Richard Bellinghara Esq!" with the 
Tote of the Represent'*'?^ thereon, Declaring the said Will to be 
sufficiently proved according to the Law in Force at that Time, 
were Picad, And Liberty was given to Mr Allen & M? Stoddard ^® 
to offer any further Pleas in Writing for Confirmation thereof. 

Thursday, November 7, 1706. Pleas offer'd by W Allen & Mr 
Stoddard for Eeversing the Act of the General Court in the Time 
of the former Government, Declaring the Will of Rich? Belling- 
ham Esq!" to be illegal, & so null & void, were Read. 

And Ordered that MF Joseph Hiller, Attorney of Edward Watts 
have a Copy thereof, & forthwith make Answer, If he see Cause. 

Saturday, November 9, 1706. An Answer presented by Joseph 
Hiller Attorney of Edward Watts & his Wife to the Pleas offered 
by Messrs Allen & Stoddard referring to the Instrument pretended 
to be the last AYill & Testament of the late Governour Richard 
Bellingham Esq? was Read. 

And then a previous Vote was put, Whether the Council would 
be ask'd upon the Resolve pass'd by the House of Represent^f^ Viz, 
That the Will of the late Richard Bellingham Esq? Dec? refer'd 
unto in the Petition of M? Allen was according to the Law then 
in Force legally proved, And that the Petitioner ought to have 
the Benefit of the Common Law notwithstanding any Act pass'd 
for the Nulling the said Will? And the Previous Vote being 
answerd in the Affirmative. 

The Question was put upon the said Resolve Whether they 
Concur'd therewith or not? And it was Carried in the Negative. 

And then an other Question was put: Whether any of the 
Council might not draw up & offer to Consideration some Thing in 
Lieu of the aforesaid Resolve ? And it pass'd in the Affirmative.^" 

The result thus far appears that the General Court re- 
fused to reopen the ease; possibly on the ground that, since 

" MSS. Records as above, 241. 

25 [Pipsuinably Simeon Stoddard, son of Anthony Stoddard, deceased, a 
trustee iinder the will. The print quoted in the appendix was given Samuel 
Sewall by " S. Stoddard."] 

'"' MSS. Records as above, 254, 255. 



Chap. XIII] THE CASE REOPENED 539 

the new charter, jurisdiction of wills was vested solely in 
the Governor and Council. Accordingly it was resolved that 
some one of the Council, if any should see fit, might draw 
up and offer in that body a plan whereby the case might be 
reheard. I find no evidence of any such action in that body. 
James Allen was defeated a second time, but this was not the 
end of the business. 






>40 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIII 



APPENDIX 

About this time Pcv. James Allen made an appeal to the 
public in a paper given below. It is a Broadside of two printed 
folio pages without date. The only known copy bears this endorse- 
ment of Chief Justice Samuel Sewall : " Given me by Mr. 8. 
Stoddard, Augt. 6, 1706," and is interleaved after No. 121, August 
12, 1706, in a volume of the Boston News Letter formerly owned 
by Sewall, and now by the New York Historical Society. For a 
copy I am indebted to Mr. William Kelby, Assistant Librarian 
of that Society.^ 

A Copy of the Last Will and Testament of 

ElCHARD BeLLINGHAM EsQE. 

Late Governour of the Colony of the Massachussetts Bay in New- 
England. And some Arguments to prove this was the said Gov- 
ernours last Will, and was Proved and Approved as such, and 
ought to continue valid against the Attempts of all that would 
Nullify the same. 

Published by the Eeverend Mr. James Allen, one of the 
Executors in said Will named. 

Governour Bellingham his [For a copy of the will and its 

Will Lib 7 f 271. probate see supra, page 393.] 

Whereas some persons have endeavoured to destroy and make 
void the before-going Will, and that upon a pretence that the 
Gentleman which made the same, was urged to the doing of it. 
These may therefore Certify all persons whomsoever, and par- 
ticularly the Gentlemen now Assembled to represent this Province, 
That the Will, whereof the above is a true Copy, was wrote by the 
said Governour some years before his Death, and for about two 
years before his last Sickness it continued in my possession. 

I often in that time discoursed the Governour about this Will, 
and advised him to alter it, and give more to his Wife and Son and 
others, but he would not hearken to my advice, saying, he knew 
his Son better than I did ; for says he, my Son has Tivo Hundred 
Pounds a year of my Estate, and there is now befallen him Fifteen 

' [Presumably this was published at the revival of tlie case before the 
General Court in the summer of 170G. See a reference to it in the vote of 
the Council, September 3, 170G, supra, p. 537.] 



CiiAP. XIII] APPENDIX 5-11 

Hundred Pounds a year by his Mother; and if I should give him 
all this, he would part with it all for a Song, all which he did very 
frequently repeat, and would admit of no perswasions to make 
any alterations in it. 

After the Governour had taken to his Bed of the Sickness 
whereof he dyed he sent three several ]\Iessengers to me to come 
and bring said Will, which at last with much perswasions I did, 
and when I came to him he told me he could not dye till he had 
finished that Will. I then gave him said Will sitting on his Bed, 
he sent for AVitnesses which he named, saying, they were good 
honest men ; he then called for his Spectacles, read his Will and 
declared it to be his last Will : He then called for a Candle and 
Wax, fixed a Seal to it and afterwards signed and sealed it in form 
and then sealed it up and delivered it into my keeping as one of 
the Executors. The day after he dyed, the Will was opened and 
read before the other Executors, the Witnesses and several others 
then present, and soon after it was proved and confirmed as 
appears above; and for some years after acted upon by the 
Executors in all Cases, as need required ; and received and im- 
proved in all Courts (in which it appeared) as good and valid. 

Now God having inclined the heart of this Worthy Person to 
Dedicate so valuable an Estate to his Service, and promote Piety 
and Eeligion in this Land; will it not be a thing much wondred 
at by Good men, as carrying a very bad aspect, to destroy so pious 
an action by Nullifying a Will so fully and amply expressing it 
self, and so Legally proved, approved and confirmed? and which 
has the Sanction of Heaven upon it, (as all things of that nature 
have) Gal. 3 15. A mans Covonant or Testament no man disan- 
nulletli, that is, cannot lawfully do it. Besides such proceedings 
may discourage others for the future for setting a part or portion 
of their Estates for Publick and Pious Uses. 

Whereas those who shall promote the carrying on and helping 
forward the pious and good things in this Will expressed, will 
approve themselves Friends to their Country, Posterity and 
Eeligion : And all that favour Justice, Equity and Piety shall 
bless them. 

James Allen 

Among the Watts Papers ^ is a draft apj-cirontly intended to 
answer tbe foregoing; but whether published, I am unable to 
say. It follows : 

= Cliainbt'vlain MSS., i. 95. 



542 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIII 

That there was a "Writing pretended to be the AVill of GovF Bel- 
lingham is out of Controversy but that it was the s? Gover?'" 
Bellinghains Will & sufficiently proved according to Law & acted 
upon for seflall years is absolutely deneyed. (1) For that the 
s^ Gov'ner Bellingham never wrote the s*? Will as is pretended by 
M'" Aliens false prints (2) That he was not compos mentis at 
the time of his Executing the s^ pretended Will as by many cred- 
ible Wittnes & also by Edmond Ranger ^ one of those that was a 
Wittnes to it appears That Notwithstanding w* is alledged the 
pretended Will was determined to be null & void by Act of the 
Generall Court & so remains & to mencon a such surreptitious 
will as sacred is ludcre cum saci'is 

That Jn the Jewish Times God never required nor Expected 
That Laymen should devote the greatest part of his possessions & 
Temporal Estate to him to the deprivacon of his Right heirs his 
Children & family & that no religion in the world will justify the 
scripture Quotacon in this Cas 

That this 3^^ Article is grosly reflecting upon the hono^^'*^ Gen- 
erall Court & scurrilous in point of the hono^'® Govern? Leveret 
who took other just measures in disposition of his Estate to his 
Widdow & Children 

That to Establish this Will is to defeat the Right heirs of their 
Jnheritance w^'*^ the Church alwaies abhors / And that this estate 
accord [ing] to Law descended to Sam". Bellingham Esqr & his 
heirs & that the s^ Sara". Bcllinghams sole daughter now enjoys 
part of the s^ Estate who being the grandaughter of the sO Gou? 
Bell : is no stranger — 

That the Law of England ever favours Estates by descent & 
neither decrees in Chancery nor Acts of Parliamt were ever know 
to set aside Jnheritances according to law, upon the false allega- 
cons of a surreptitious & fraudulent devise and its hoped that 
the General Assembly will never begin to Establish this pretended 
Will which they have made void & null 

6. That it can never be imagine! the Act of this Province for 
Limitaeon of possess^ should be thrown away or blotted out of 
our Laws to make way for the reviving of the s? pretended will 
that has been dead this 30 years & the Rightfull heirs enjoyed the 
Estate ever since — And the Jmaginary suggestions about the son 
&? frivolous 

' [Isaac Townscnd, son of Samuel Townsend, tenant at Winnisimmet, 
married a daughter of Edmund Ranger.] 



Chap. XIII] APPENDIX 543 

7. That the opening a door to set aside the Gen^^ Courts Act 
& thereby devest any psons of their Possessions & fixt inheritances 
according to the forecited Law of this Province for limitacon of 
possession would be very inconvenient & a dangerous president 
& tend to the unravelling the fixt estates of this Country & the 
contradicting the afores*^ law of Limitacon of possess^ 

Chief Justice Sewall's views are given in a letter to Wait AVin- 
throp, J^ovember 10, 1706.* "As to Mv Bellingham's will, Mr 
Allen seems to insinuat it was written by himself, whereas it is M? 
Allen's own hand ; ^ and there is a base reflection upon M? Sam^ 
Bellingham, a worthy gent. Indeed 1 have purchased a small peice 
of land y* was Gov"" Bellingham's; but it is not mentioned in y*^ 
will at all, and I hold it of the heir. However, it would be much 
more for my interest to have y^ Winisimet lands go to settle a 
minister there than otherwise, tho I should lose my purchase ; and 
yet I caiiot see with what face we can go about now to set up that 
will, thirty years after its being declared null by the Gen^ Court 
that then was. That is most certain which by contest, & after 
contest (ex duhio), is made certain. I fear it would be much to 
the dishonor of God, as things now stand with us, to undo that 
w'^'^ was done in 1676, when parties and witnesses were alive. It 
would in probability create a great deal of trouble to the Prov- 
ince, and come to nothing in the end. We should be thought 
unjustly selfish, unwilling y^ estate should go to persons in 
England." 

♦ 6 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc, v. 148. 

" The original is not now to be found in the Probate Office. 



5^4 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIV 



CHAPTER XIV 

SUITS FOE THE BELLINGHAM ESTATES RESUMED 

THE result of the proceedings in the General Court for 
reopening the Bellingham will case would have dis- 
heartened one less resolute than James Allen. But he seems 
to have anticipated the issue, for in Maj, 1705, he devised a 
plan which forced Edward and Rebecca Watts to litigate the 
case before a jury, whatever might be the decision of the 
General Court. In this he had the assistance of Rev. Thomas 
Cheever, then, and for many years previously, a resident of 
Rumney Marsh. They determined that if Allen was not 
allowed to bring suit, Edward Watts should be compelled to 
do so. Their plan, simple and effective, was this: for Allen, 
as executor and trustee under Bellingham's will, to enter and 
take possession of the estates as though there were no question 
of his title.-^ JN'or were the circumstances unfavorable. Ed- 
ward and Rebecca Watts, the legal claimants, were in London, 
and the estates in the possession of tenants, neighbors and 
parishioners of Cheever at Rumney Marsh,- interested parties 

' [The estates contested in the courts were tlie Townsend farm and 
Governor Bellingham's mansion house in Boston, in both of which Mrs. 
Penelope Bellingham had held a life interest. In the inventory of Samuel 
Townsend's estate, taken January 9, 1704/5, was the item, — " Rent oweing 
from the Estate for 3 years," that is, since the death of Mrs. Bellingham. 
Title to the Bellingham estates was then under litigation in the English 
courts. At Winnisimmet Joseph Hiller demanded the rents as agent' of 
Edward and Rebecca Watts, Nathaniel Newdigate as agent of Hull and 
Shelton. {Supra, chap, xii.) The deed from Hull and Shelton to Edward 
and Rebecca Watts was not proved in INIassachusetts by the oath of two 
witnesses, and recorded at the Suii'olk Registr}^ of Deeds, until February, 
1704/5, the date of James Allen's petition to the General Court. Because 
of these disputes over the rent of the farm, the estate of Samuel Townsend 
was still unsettled in May, 1708. Suif. Prob. Rec, L. 15, f. 413; L. 16, 
f. 4G0.] 

^ [The church at Rumney Marsh, of which Rev. Thomas Cheever be- 
came the pastor, was not gathered until 1715; no member of the Townsend 
family joined it. Thomas Cheever was, however, their near neighbor. 
They attended the North Church in Boston. Its pastor. Rev. Cotton Mather, 
often urged the establishment of a church at Rumney Marsh.] 



Chap. XIV] SUITS FOR THE BELLINGHAM ESTATES 545 

and doubtless sympathizing with Allen, and not unwilling to 
recognize him as their landlord. In pursuance of thoir plan, 
Allen executed a power of attorney, in the handwriting of 
Thomas Cheever, as follows : ^ 

To all People, unto whom these presents shall come James 
Allen of Boston in the County of Suffolk in jSTew-England Clerk, 
sendeth Greeting. Know ye that I the s*^ James Allen as fSur- 
viving ffeoffee in Trust, & Executour of the last will & Testament 
of the Hon^l® Eichard Bellingham Esq Dec^, have assigned, or- 
dained, substituted & made, & by these presents do assigne, ordainc, 
substitute & make John ffloj'd sen? * of Winnisimmett side in y** 
precincts of Boston afores*^ Yeoman, to be my deputy, assignee, or 
Attorne}', 

for me, in my name, & in my s*^ Capacity, to y® uses & behoofs in 
ye gd ^,j|^ mentioned, to enter into all & singular, y® Messuages, 
houses, lands, tenements, & hereditaments of y^ s^ Eichard Belling- 
ham Dec^ scituate lying & being in y^ s*^ County of Suffolk, 
whereof he died siezed in ffee, or wherein at y® time of his death 
he y^ s*^ Eichard Bellingham had any estate, interest, property or 
demand; & to account with any person or persons Avhatsoever 
for or concerning the rents issues or profits of all or any the s^ 
Messuage, houses, ffarmes, lands, or tenements beforementioned. 
Likewise for default of payment of any rent, or rents which now 
is, or hereafter shall become due to me as ffeoffee & Ex?" afors'', to 
sue & prosecute for y® same to full effect, & to take & use all law- 
full wayes & meanes for y^ obtainment & recovery of y® s*^ lands, 
or rents thereof. And my person in the Courts of this Province to 
represent, and to act, transact, do, prosecute, say & accomplish 
all & every matter or thing lawfull, which doth any way relate 
to y^ enforcement, & making valid & effectuall the s*^ will, accord- 
ing to the intents, purposes & true meaning of the same; and 
to present for that dcsigne any memoriall, petition or Eemon- 
strance to the Great & Gonerall Court or Assembly of the Province 
of the Massachusetts-Bay, & to implead any person or persons 
defending, or which shall, or may oppose the same. And also with 
full power to retain, imploy, & improve any CouncellF at law, 
Advocate, or Attorney to appear in & negotiate under him y^ affair 
& concern of y® s^ will, or whatsoever doth or may relate unto the 

' Chamberlain MSS., i. 89 [the original document with autograph sig- 
natures and endorsement. On the back is the further endorsement, " Watts 
u. Townsend January 170G."] 

♦ [Supra, p. 189.] 
VOL. I. — 35 



546 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIV 

premises. And Generally to do, execute, perform, & accomplish 
all & every matter, cause, & thing needfull & required in y® 
premises, as if I my self were personally present; hereby devolv- 
ing on y^ s^ John ffloyd 

my full & whole power given, granted, & derived to me in & by 
the s*^ last will & testament of y^ s^ Eichard Bellingham Deceased. 
And I do promise to ratify & allow of what my s<^ Deputy or 
Attorney shall lawfully do or cause to be done in y® premises by 
virtue hereof, as witnes my hand & Seal this twenty second day 
of May anno Dom: 1705. /^~-\ 

James Allen. (sealj 
Signed sealed & Delivered Suffolk ss : Boston 1 June 1705 

in presence of Eeuerent James Alen appeared be- 

Mary Allen fore me the subscriber one of her 

Elkanah Pembrooke Majesties Justices of the peace in 

s^ County and acknowledged this 

Letter of attorney to be his act and 

deed. 

Samuel Lynde 

Watts begins the Fight in the Court of Common Pleas 

This vigorous action by Allen renewed the war. The agent 
of Edward and Rebecca Watts probably received instruction 
from London, and September 14, 1705, commenced a suit 
against Abigail and Jonathan Townsend for the To^vnsend 
farm, but was nonsuited for non-appearance.^ 

The next year, August 28, 1706, Edward and Rebecca Watts 
sued Elkanah Pembrooke, shopkeeper, John Cotta, tailor, and 
William Payne^ joiner, for rent of an estate not described. 
Payne and Cotta were subtenants of Pembrooke, and he tenant 
of James Allen, who was called on to defend the suit. The 
plaintiffs recovered judgment for £38 debt, and £5 5s. costs, 

» Records of the Court of Common Pleas, 1701-1706, p. 284. [The writ 
of attachment to answer to a plea of trespass and ejectment was dated 
September 14, 1705; the case was nonsuited at the October term of court. 
The writ is in SufT. Early Court Files, No. 6588 ; it will not be reproduced, 
as that of August 28, 1706 (infra, p. 559) copies it verbatim. The endorse- 
ment reads: " Boston, September ye 14th 1705. By Vertue of this Writt I 
have attached the Dwelling house of the withinnamed Abigail To^vnsend 
lyeing in Winissimitt which was owned to be her Estate and the house of 
the within named Jonathan Townsend lyeing in Winissimitt and have left 
a summons att the house. Giles Dyer Sheriff "] 



Chap. XIV] SUITS FOR THE BELLINGHAM ESTATE§ 547 

and December 6tli took out execution for the same which was 
satisfied 22 January, 1707.^ 

But the following suit of the same date had a different 
result. The writ containing important information is given 
in the appendix.^ Allen was successful before the jury, but 
Edward Watts appealed to the Superior Court : ^ 

At the Superior Court of Judicature holden at Boston on the 
first Tuesday in May, 1707. — Edward Watts of the Parish of 
S* Buttolph Aldgate in the Citty of London in the Kingdom of 
England Sawer & Eebecca his Wife Appellants ag* James Allen 
of Boston in the County of Suffolk Clerk Appellee, from the 
Judgment of an Inferiour Court of Common pleas held at Boston 
January 7, 1706 [1707] In a plea of Tresspass & Ejectment Com- 
menced & prosecuted by the said Edward Watts & Eebecca his 
AYife against Abigail Townsend & Jonathan Townsend of Winni- 
simmett in the Township of Boston At which s*^ Inferiour Court 
the s*^* James Allen was Admitted Deft in the Room & Steed of 
Abigail & Jonathan Townsend his Tenants, for withholding 
from the Plants the possession of a Certain farm or tract of Land 
lying at Winnisimmett According to Writ bearing date August 
26, 1706. At which said Court Judgment was Rendered for the 
Defendt Costs of Suit. 

Both Parties Appeared the AVrit Judgment Reasons of Appeal 
& All things touching the same being fully heard the whole was 
Committed to the Jury who were Sworn According to Law to try 
the same & Returned their Verdict therein upon Oath that is to say 
they find for the Appellee Confirmation of the former Judgment 
& Cost of Courts 
Its therefore Considered by the Court that the s*^ James Allen 

° [Two suits apparently are here confused. The writ of August 28, 
1706, was a writ of trespass and ejectment; the case was nonsuited at 
the January term of court, 1706 [1707]; both defendant and phxintiff 
defaulted. By writ dated September 2, 1706, the attorney of Edward 
Watts sued Pembrooke on a bond for £500 given September 21, 1705, to 
abide by the award of certain arbitrators on the title to a house and other 
differences. This latter case was appealed and judgment rendered at the 
November term of the Superior Court in 1706, as stated in the text. The 
house in controversy was the mansion house of Governor Bellingham in 
Boston, with the shops belonging to it. See infra, pp. 551-558.] 

' Infra, p. 559. 

' [For the Reasons of Appeal, drawn by Paul Dudley, and the defend- 
ant's answer, by John Valentine, see infra, pp. 562-567.] 



548 * HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIV 

shall Eecover of the s*^ Edward Watts & Eebecca his Wife Costs 
of Courts. 2^ Jury." 

In this action for the ToAvnsend, or Gary farm, Allen 
was successful. But I do not suppose that the estate was held 
to the uses set forth in Eellingham's will, nor can I explain 
how the judgment in Allen's favor was rendered nugatory. 
A year later, October 15, 1707, Edward and Eebecca Watts 
brought another action which possibly may have been for this 
same farm. All I can find is the following record: ^^ 

Another Suit hy Edward and Rebecca Watts vs. Allen 
in which they prevail 

At the Superior Court of Judicature at the term beginning 
at Boston on Tuesday, May 4, 1708. — Edward Watts of the 
Parish of St Buttolph Aldgate in the Citty of London in the 
Kingdom of England Sawer & Eebecca his Wife Plantiffs 
against James Allen of Boston in the County of Suffolk Clerk 
Deft. As p Writ dated the 15 of October 1707. This Action was 
entered at a Superiour Court at Boston the first Tuesday of 
Novemb'^' last past : Where the Jury found specially if the General 
Court had power to disanull m*' Bcllinghams Will We Reverse 
the former Judgment & find for the Plantiffs the Land in Con- 
troversie & Cost of Courts if they Could not make Yoyd his Will 
then We find for the Deft Costs." Whereupon the Court Advised 
to this Terme 

Its Considered by the Court that the s^ Edward Watts & Ee- 
becca his AVife Eecover of the s*' James Allen the premisses Sued 
for & Costs of Courts taxed at Seventeene pounds four shillings 
& six pence. 

The original papers in this case cannot now be found, and 
all that we know about it is what is contained in the foregoing 
record, by way of recital. Unlike the preceding action against 

" Records of the Superior Court of Judicature, 1700-1714, f. 20S. 

" Ibid., 221. [This was an action by review of the jiidgment for the 
Townsend farm given above. See infra, pp. 568-571, the writ of attach- 
ment, and the bill of costs.] 

" [This custom of leaving to the jury questions of law as well as of fact 
was largely responsible for the irregular character of legal decisions and 
their frequent reversal. Notice the verdict in Hutchinson v.i. Blake {/ixpra, 
p. 43f)), and the rules of Court in Paige vs. Cooke in 16SG, given bifra, 
appcndi.x to cliap. xxi.] 



Chap. XIV] SUITS FOR THE BELLINGHAM ESTATES 549 

the To^vnsends in tlie Inferior Court, taken to the Superior 
Court on appeal, this suit originated in that court and resulted 
in a special verdict of the jury: If the General Court, in 1076, 
could annul Governor Bellingham's will, then they found for 
Edward and Rebecca Watts ; otherwise, for Allen. The record 
does not disclose the farm in controversy; but the words " We 
Reverse the former Judgment " imply one against Edward 
Watts for the same estate. But as Allen was a party to the 
suit for the same property, and had judgment in the same 
court, one may ask why that was not pleaded in bar; ^^ but 
it was not, and the next entry is: "May. 11. 1708. Facias 
habere possessionem Issued out," — that is, Edward and Re- 
becca Watts had an execution for the farm. 

Sewall, one of the judges in this case, records Xovember 7, 
1707 : — " Mr. James Allen stood up, and said I was a Party, 
and therefore ought not to be a Judge in the Cause of Gov"" 
Bellingham's Will. I had got of that Land in a wrong way; 
which I resented; for no Land on this side the water is men- 
tioned except for Life, and my Fragment on the Hill is not 
mention'd at alL" ^^ Sewall, May 7, 1708, says: — "Upon 

" [Fiupra, note 10.] 

" Sewall, Diary, ii. 197. Sewall's editors say: "This reference or 
excuse is not very plain, since Governor Bellingham's will had been set 
aside, as we will show; and any title from his only son Avould seem to be 
free of Haw." No marvel that they were puzzled; for they had no reason 
to suppose that the will had been re-opened, and that Sewall was thou 
trying it. He had bought a part of the Bellingham estate near Pemberton 
Square, left to the governor's widow for life, which on her decease became 
the property of his son Samuel. [This land did not adjoin the mansion 
house of Governor Bellingham ; it descended to the heir-at-law, and was 
not assigned to the widow. See Sewall's description of it in letters to 
Samuel Bellingham and Edward Hull. G Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc, i. 158, 159.] 
Sewall bought his lot of Mrs. Samuel Bellingham and her trustees. His 
title was in no way involved in the validity of the will. If the will was 
good, that estate went to the widow for life, then to the son; if bad, then 
to tlie son immediately as heir-at-law, subject to the widow's dower, ex- 
tinguished by her death. But the case of the Winnisimmet estates, the title 
to one of which Sewall was trying, Avas different; for if the will was good, 
then when the widow, his son, and his son's daugliter deceased, they went 
to trustees in fee. [Judge Chamberlain placed in the margin the query: 
"Is this good law?" Sewall was a member of the court wliich adjudged 
the Eustace farm at Winnisimmet to Mrs. Elizabeth Bellingham in April, 
1007; in October of the same year she conveyed to him tlie land above- 
mentioned; in December, 1G95, he had written to Samuel Bellingham offer- 



550 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIV 

the Si:)ecial Verdict, between Wats and Allen, Sewall, Ha- 
thorne, Corwin for Watts; Walley for Allen." ^^ This shows 
the division of the judges as to the power of the General Court 
in 1076 to set aside Bellingham's will. 

ing to purchase it. (C Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc, i. 158.) Allen insinuated here 
that Sewall's course in the earlier suit was affected by his desire to obtain 
this land from Mrs. Bcllingham. See supra, pp. 482-488. 
» Sewall, Diary, ii. 223. 



Chap. XIV] APPENDIX 1 551 



APPENDIX 1 

[Pembeooke vs. Hillee 

At an Adjournment of an Inferiour Court of Common Pleas,^ 
holden at Boston ... on the fourth Tuesday of July 1706 , . . 
Elkanah Pembrook of Boston in the County of Suffolk Shop- 
keeper shewing forth to the Court that his Body was Attached 
at the suit of Joseph Hillard of Boston in the County aforesaid 
Tinnman aP Joseph Hillyard of said Boston Tinman as Attorney 
to Edward Watts of the Parish of S? Buttolphs Algate in the 
City of London in the Kingdom of England Saw^-er and Eebecca 
his Wife; and there being no Action Entred thereon Its Con- 
siDEEED BY THE CouRT That the Said Elkanah Pembrook shall 
recover against the said Joseph Hiller in his Capacity afores? his 
Costs occasioned in and by this suit. 

Hillee, Attorney, vs, Pembeooke 

Writ of Attachment ^ 

Suffolk ss. Anne by the Grace of God of England Scotland 

(Sigillum) France and Ireland Queen Defender of the Faith &c 
To the Sheriff of our County of Suffolk his 
Under Sheriff or Deputy Greeting 
We Command you to Attach the Goods or Estate of Elkanah 
Pembrook of Boston in the County of Suffolk Shopkeeper to the 
value of one thousand pounds in money, and for want thereof to 
take the body of the s^ Elkanah Pembrook (if he may be found 
in your precinct) and him Safely keep so that you have him before 
our Justices of our Inferiour Court of CoiiTon Pleas next, to be 
holden at Boston within and for our s? County of Suffolke on the 
first Tuesday of October next then and there in our s^ Court to 
answer unto Joseph Hiller of Boston afores^ Tinman as Attorney 
to Edward Watts of the Parish of St Buttolphs Aldgate in the 
City of London in the Kingdom of England Sawyer and Eebecca 
his Wife In a plea of Debt That he the Def* render to the 

' MSS. Records, 1701-1700. p. 302. 

' SuflF. Early Court Files, No. 70G2, Papers Nos. 4 and 5, and Fragment 
No. 883. 



552 HlSTOilY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIV 

Plan* Attorney as afors*? Five hundred pounds Lawful money 
of New England which he ows and unjustly detains For that 
Whereas the Def* the Twenty first day of September last past at 
Boston afores^ did Acknowledge himself to be held and firmly bound 
to the Plant in his Capacity afores"? in the afores'J Sum of Five hun- 
dred pounds; As in and by one Bond or "Writing Obligatory under 
the Deft^ hand and Seal now in Court produced more fully ap- 
pears, with Condition to the said Obligation underwritten that the 
Deft should in all things well and truly perform and fulfill the 
Award Judgment final End and Determination of David Jeffries 
and Eichard Draper of Boston afores? Merchants Arbitrator^ In- 
differently Chosen by the Plant and Defend* for the final Ending 
& Determining of Several Disputes and Controversys between 
them about the Title to a Certain house and Land in the possession 
of the Deft claimed by the s^} Edward Watts and Pvebecca his Wife 
As also about the Eents profits and issues thereof. And also Con- 
cerning Sundry Expences & Disbursemt^ on the premisses, and 
some funeral Charges provided and laid out for Madam Belling- 
ham dece? who Let the premisses to the Defendt provided such 
Award were made and given up in Writing under the ArbitratoV^ 
hands and Seals ready to be Delivered &c on or before the Twenty 
ninth day of September last past As in and by the s? Condition 
may more fully appear; Now the pi [ant ] afores^ In fact saith 
that the afores^ Arbitrators Did take upon them, the burthen and 
Execution of the said Award, and among other things did award 
and order that the s"? Elkanah Pembrook should pay to the 
s? Joseph Hiller Attorney as afores"? the Sum of Thirty five 
pounds five Shills and tenn pence money of New England at the 
rate of Eight Shillings per ounce Weight on or before the Six- 
teenth day of December last past, and upon the Fifteenth day of 
June also last past, he the Deft should further pay to the 
Plan* the Sum of Sixteen pounds in money at the rate afores^ As 
also that he the Deft his Under Tenants or Assigns shall quietly 
and peaceably Surrender yield and Deliver up unto the said 
Joseph Hillyard Attorney as afores*? his heirs or Assigns full 
possession and Seizen of all and Singular the said Messuage 
Dwelling house Land and premisses with all Ediffices Shops build- 
ings and fences standing & being thereon without any Demol- 
ishmt (fire Excepted) as by the Award of the s*? Arbitrators under 
their hands and Seals now also in Court produced bearing date 
the Twenty ninth day of September last past more fully appears; 
And the plant further In fact saith that altho he hath been ready 
to do and perform what in his part in and by the s^ Award is to 
be done and performed; yet He the Deft afores? hath not paid 



CiiAP. XIV] APPENDIX 1 553 

the Several Sums of money before mentioned at the time afore 
mentioned unto the Plan^ Attorney as afores'.^ nor did he Deliver 
quiet & peaceable possession of the Messuage Land and premisses 
before mentioned to the Plan^ Attorney as afores? according to the 
Determination and Award afores"? whereby the s? Deft hath for- 
feited to the Plant Attorney afores*? the s'? Sum of Five hundred 
pounds the penalty of the s^ Bond Yet the s^} Elkanah Pembrook 
altho often thereunto requested the said Sum of Five hundred 
pounds forfeited to the Plan* Attorney as afores^ to pay hath 
deiiyed and doth still deny to pay the same to him To the 
damage of the said Joseph Hiller Attorney as afores^ as he saith 
the Sum of Six hundred Pounds in money, which Shall then 
and there be made to Appear with other due damages, and have 
you there this Wri[t] with your doings therein. 

Witness Elisha Hutchinson EsqV at Boston this Second day of 
September in the Fifth year of our Eeign Annoq. Domini 1706 

Addington Davenport Cler. 
Suffolk ss. 
The Award is no Award 
in Law. Jn? Valentine. 

Suffolk ss. Boston Septv the St^^ 1706. 

By Virtue of this Writ I have Attached the Body of the within 
named Elkanah Pembrook and have taken Bond to the value of 
one thousand pounds in money. 

Giles Dyer Sheriff.^ 

Judgment in the Inferior Court * 

At an Inferiour Court of Common Pleas begun and held at Bos- 
ton for and within the County of Suffolk, on the first Tuesday of 
October being the first day of s? Month Anno^ Domini 1706 . . . 
„.„ Joseph Hiller of Boston in the County of Suffolk 

. , „^ Tinman as Attorney to Edward Watts of the Parish 

o™e} " Qj? gt Buttolph Aldgate in the City of London in 
p I , the Kingdom of England Sawyer and Eebecca his 
1 embrooke ^^,.^^ p^'^ ^ EUjanah" Pembrooke of Boston afores^ 
Sliopkeeper Deft In a plea of Debt [repeats verljatim the above 
writ] ... To the damage of the s^ Joseph Hiller Atiorney as 

' Endorsement on the back of Paper No. 5, cited above: "A true Copy 
of the Original Writ and Service thereof, and the Defts plea. Exani^ per 
Addington Davenport Cler." 

* MSS. Records of Suff. County Court of Common Pleas, 1701-1706, 
pp. 377, 378. A copy of this judgment is in Suff. Early Court Files, No. 
7002, Paper 3. 



554 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIV 

afores^ as he saith the sum of six hundred pounds in money ; The 
Deft appeared by John Valentine his Attorney & pleaded the 
award is no award in Law; UjDon which issue being joined the 
Case after a full hearing was committed to the Jury who were 
sworn according to Law to try the same & returned their Verdict 
therein upon Oath That is to say They find for the Plan* ffive 
hundred pounds money being the fforfeiture of the Bond sued on 
and Costs of suit. Its thekefore Considered by the Court 
That the s*^ Joseph Hiller Attorney as afores? shall recover against 
the s? Elkanah Pembrook the sum of Thirty five pounds money 
(being the Chauncery of the s^} Bond unto its just Debt and dam- 
ages) and Costs of suit; The Plan* & Def* both appealed from this 
Judgment unto the next SuperioV Court of Judicature to be holden 
for this County, and both entred into Eecognizance with suretys 
for prosecuting their respective appeals with Effect — 2? Jury/ — 

Hiller, Appellant, vs. Pembrooke 

Afiswer to the Reasons of Appeal ^ 
Elkanah Pembrooke 



a? 



t I The s^ Pembrooke answers to the Appel*^ 

T l"^'ll- 1 I reasons of appeal as foll*^ 

That the Judgm* is Certainly wrong & ought to be reversed 
For That, as the s^ Pembrooke pleaded, there is no Award in 
Law 

for l?t The Arbitrators have mistaken y^ matters in difference, 
for they have not determin'd Concerning the Tytle of the Land 
w^.^ was Submitted to y'P 

2 The Award ordv^ the Delivery of the possession of a hous & 
land by Strangers that are no partyes to the submission To witt 
That M^' Payne &c - shall &c - 

3 The Award is void for the uncertainty all that is awarded Hil- 
lard shall do to Pembrook is That vpon -paying y*^ inony and 
giveing possession, he shall give sufficient Bond &c. 

And 1^* Its uncertaine w* the Security shall be, Whether reall 
or Personall 

3 Now what sum, y^ security shall be in. Who shall judge 
Not the Arbitrators, for their power was at an end, when they 
made their Award, & none Else can judge, who were not sub- 
mitted to. See Cooks Eeports Sammons Case - with other Bookes 
of Law are expres in point 

" Suff. Early Court Files, No. 7062, Paper No. 2. 



Chap. XIV] APPENDIX 1 555 

3 The Award is all on one side No Quid Pro Quo Pembrook 
must do all, pay mony & deliver possession, & Hillier do nothing 

4. The Award ought to be final of all differences, w*-'^^ it is not, 
but has laid a foundation for further trouble for that notwith- 
standing the Tytle was submitted, yet, Hiller or Watts has brot an 
accon for it 

All w?^ makes the Award void to all intents, & if it were a good 
Award, there can be no doubt the Bond ought to be Chancer'd. 

Jn*' Valentine 
[for] aplf« 

Judgment in the Superior Court ^ 

At Her Majestys Superiour Court of Judicature Court of Assize 
and General Goal Delivery Begun & held at Boston ... on Tues- 
day ISTovember the fifth Anno^ Dom! 1706. . . . 

p-.,, Joseph Hiller of Boston in the County of Suffolk 

Tinman as Attorny to Edward Watts of the Parish 
pi , of S*^ Buttolph Aldgate in the City of London in 
the Kingdom of England Sawer & Rebecca his Wife 
Appell* against Elkanah Pembrook of Boston afores^^ Shopkeeper 
Appellee from the Judgment of an Inferiour Court of Common 
pleas held at Boston the first of October 1706. In a plea of Debt 
for that the Deft Eender to the Plan* Attorny as afores*' five 
hundred pounds which he Justly ows & detains for on the 21^' of 
September 1705 at Boston afores*^ he did Acknowledge himself to 
be firmly bound unto the Pit in his Capacity afores*^ in the afores*^ 
Sum of five hundred pounds as by one bond under the Defts hand 
now in Court produced more fully Appears with Condition under 
Written that the Deft in all things should perform & full fill the 
Award Judgment and determination of David Jeffries & Richard 
Draper as in & by the Writ or Process is at large Set forth Which 
he the Deft hath not done Whereby the s** Sum of five hundred 
pounds is forfeited as afores*^ And yet the said Pembrook tho 
often Requested Refuses to pay the same to the damage of the s'^ 
Hiller Attorny as afores^ as he saith the Sum of Six hundred 
pounds Money. At which s"^ Court Judgment was Rendered 
for the Plant the Sum of Thirty five pounds Money being the 
Chancery of the s^ Bond unto Jts Just Debt & damage and 
Costs of Suit. Both Parties now Appeared the Writ Judgment 
Reasons of Appeal and all things being discussed Jts Considered by 
the Court that the s*^ Joseph Hiller Attorny as afores*^ shall Recover 
of the s^ Elkanah Pembrook the Sum of Thirty Eight pounds 

» MSS. Records, 1700-1714, fi". 192, 193. 



55G HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIV 

Money being the Chancery of said Bond to Jts Just debt & damage 
& Cost of Courts Taxed at five pounds five shillings." 

Pembrooke, Appellant, vs. Hiller 

Court Record ^ 

At Her Majestys Superiour Court of Judicature Court of 
Assize and General Goal Delivery Begun & held at Boston within 
& for the County of Suffolk on Tuesday November the fifth 
Annoq Dom! 1706. . . . 
-p-.,. Upon Eeading the Complaint of Joseph Hiller of 

Boston Attorny to Edward Watts & Rebecca his 
Wife Therein setting forth that at an Jnferiour Court 
Jembrook ^^ Common pleas held at Boston the first Tuesday 
of October 1706, he Recovered Judgment against Elkanah Pem- 
brook of Boston afores^ Shopkeeper for Thirty five pounds & 
Costs: from which Judgment the s<^ Pembrook Appealed to this 
Court and Entered into Recognizance to prosecute the same as 
the Law directs but hath failed in performing the Same. Where- 
fore the s^ Complainant prays that the former Judgment may be 
Affirmed & allow him Intervening damages & Costs. Jts Con- 
sidered by the Court that the Complainant Recover against the 
s*^ Pembrook Cost of Courts for that both parties Appealed from 
one and the same Judgment and the former Judgment affirmed 
upon the Appeal of the s^ Hiller, Cost Taxed at five pounds Nine- 
teen & six pence.'' 

Writ of Execution ^° 

Province of the Anne, by the Grace of God, of England, 

Massachusetts-Bay, ss. Scotland, France and Ireland, Queen, 
(Seal) Defender of the Faith, &c. 

To the Sheriff of Our County of Suffolk his under Sheriff or 
Deputy, Greeting. 

AVhereas Joseph Hiller of Boston in the County of Suffolk 
Tinman as Attorny to Edward Watts of the Parish of S* But- 
tolph Aldgate in the City of London in the Kingdom of England 
Sawcr & Rebecca his Wife by the Consideration of Our Justices 
of Our Superiour Court of Judicature holden at Boston for or 
within Our County of Suffolk aforesaid, on the first Tuesday of 

' In the margin of record is tins: "Execution Jssued out Decemr 6, 
170G." 

* MSS. Records, 1700-1714, f. 100. 

^ In the margin is this: "Execution Jssued out December G, 1706." 
" Suff. Early Court Files, No. 7002, Paper No. 1. 



Chap. XIV] APPENDIX 1 657 

November Last Recover'd Judgment against Elkanah Pemln'ook 

of Boston afores*^ Shopkeeper for the Sum of Pounds 

Shillings and Pence and Two Pounds Eleven Shillings 

and Four Pence Costs of Suit, as to Us appears of Eecord ; whereof 
Execution remains to be done. We Command you therefore, That 
of the Goods, Chattels or Lands of the said Elkanah Pembrook 
within your Precinct, you cause to be paid and satisfy'd unto the 
said Joseph Hiller Attorny as afores^ at the value thereof in 
Money, the aforesaid Sums, being Two Pounds, Eleven Shillings 
and Four Pence in the whole, with Two Shillings more for this 
Writ, and thereof also to satisfy your self for your own Fees. And 
for want of Goods, Chattels or Lands of the said Elkanah Pern- 
brook to be by him shewn unto you, or found within your Precinct, 
to the acceptance of the said Joseph Hiller Attorny as afores*^ 
to satisfy the Sums aforesaid. We Command you to take the Body 
of the said Elkanah Pembrook and him Commit unto Our Goal 
in Boston in Our County of Suffolk aforesaid, and detain in your 
Custody within Our said Goal, until he pay the full Sums above 
mentioned, with your Fees, or that he be discharged by the said 
Joseph Hiller Attorny as afores*^ the Creditor, or otherwise by 
Order of Law. Hereof fail not, and make return of this Writ 
with your doing therein into Our said Superiour Court of Judi- 
cature, to be holden at Boston within Our County of Suffolk afore- 
said, upon the first Tuesday of ]\Iay next Witness Samuel Sewall 
Esq At Boston the Sixth day of December In the Fifth Year 
of Our Reign. Annoque Domini, 1706 

Elisha Cooke Cler: 
Suffolk ss: Boston January y? 22°<i 1706/7 

By Vertue of this Execution I have Levyed it upon the Estate 
of the within named Elkanah Pembrook and have Satisfyed the 
Creditor as per receipt. 

Giles Dyer Sheriff 
Boston January y? 22°'^ 1706/7 

Eeced of Giles Dyer Sheriff the full Satisfaction of this Execu- 
tion. 

Per Joseph Hiller ^^ 

Watts vs. Pembrooke et al. 

Extract from the Records of the Inferior Court ^- 

At an Inferiour Court of Common Pleas begun and held at 
Boston January 7, 1706 [1707] Edward Watts ^of the Parish of 

" Endorsod: Hillpr vs. Pembrook, 170G/7. 
" MSS. Records, 170G-I710, pp. 1, 2. 



558 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIV 

S* Buttolphs Aldgate in the City of London in the Kingdom of 
England Sawyer and Eebecca his Wife Plant^ versus Elkanah 
Pembrooke of Boston in the County of Suffolk Shopkeeper John 
Cotta of Boston afores*?, Taylor, and William Payne of the same 
Boston joyner Def*^^ in a plea of Tresspass and Ejectment, As in 
the Writ bearing date August the 28tii 1706, is at large set forth; 
This plea or Action was commenced at the Inferiour Court in 
Octob^' last past, the said Elkanah Pembrook being then admitted 
Def* for the whole upon his Alledging that the aforenamed Cotta 
and Paj-n are his Under Tenants; And the said Elkanah Pem- 
brook then pleaded that he is a Tenant, and holds under M? 
James Allen Clerk, and prayed he might be vouched; Tlliereupon 
the plea was continued unto this Court, And the plant'' now making 
Default in Appearance are Konsuit, the Deft also made Default.^^] 

" The following appears among the Chamberlain MSS. (vol. i. p. 99) : 
" Mr Elkanah Pembrooke, Sr I Reed yours of the 3d of March 1706 : and 
am Sorry you did not Adiiise with your old friend before you shut vp your 
Shop : how Euer, J am Still Ready To Seriie in what is Just and Reason- 
able therefore Let me Know the persons J shall waight vpon and J will 
giue you their Answer as Soone as Possible: Your Loueing friend Tho : 
Banister Boston March 3 : 1706 : " ( 1"07 ?). 



Chap. XIVJ APPENDIX 2 559 



APPENDIX 2 

Watts et ux vs. Townsends ^ 

Writ of Attachment ^ 

Suffolk ss. ANNE by the Grace of GOD, of England, Scotland, 
France, and Ireland, QUEEN, Defender of 
the Faith, c£-c. 

0To the Sheriff of Our County of Suffolke, his Under 
Sheriff or Deputy, Greeting. 
We Command 30U to Attach the Goods or Estate of 
Abigail Townsend Eelict Widow of Samuel Tovvnsend 
late of Winnissimot within the Township of Boston in 
the County of Suffolke Yeoman, and Jonathan Town- 
send of Winnissimet afores"? Husbandman to the Value 
of one thousand pounds and for want thereof to take 
the Bodys of the said Abigail Townsend and Jonathan Townsend 
(if they may be found in your Precinct) and them safely keep, so 
that you have them before Our Justices, of Our Inferiour Court 
of Common Pleas next, to be Holden at Boston, within and for Our 
said County of Suffolk, on the First Tuesday of October next then 
and there in Our said Court to Answer unto Edward Watts of the 
Parish of St Buttolph Aldgate in the City of London in the King- 
dom of England Sawyer & Rebecca his Wife Jn a plea of Tress- 

' [In Suff. Early Court Files, No. 6949, are the following papers, used 
apparently in this ease on the appeal, or in the action by review. Two 
copies of the power of attorney from James Allen to John Floyd (supra, 
p. 545 ) , the one attested by Addington Davenport, clerk of the Inferior 
Court of Common Pleas, the other a copy of Davenport's copy, attested 
by Eliaha Cooke, clerk of the Superior Court. A copy of the letter missive 
of the King. (Supra, p. 444.) Extracts from the records of the Council, 
November 0, 7, and 0, 1706. (Svpra, p. 538.) Two copies of a letter from 
Miss Elizabeth Bellingham, both attested by Elisha Cooke, Clerk. (Infra, 
p. 581.) A copy of Edward Watts' answer, dra\\Ti by Paul Dudley in 1705, 
to James Allen's petition to the General Court (supra, p. 5,32) ; a copy 
attested by Elisha Cooke, Clerk, of a copy attested by Isaac Addington, 
Secretary. In Suff. Early Court Files, No. 7402, is a copy of the Decree in 
Chancery (supra, p. 51.3) attested by Elisha Cooke, Clerk. 1 

' Chamberlain MSS., i. 91; [the original writ with official endorsements. 
A printed form was used. A copy is filed in Suft. Early Court Files, 
No. 7402J. 



560 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIV 

pass and Ejectment ffor that the Deft^ have illegally cnlred into. 
& do withhold from the pU** the possession of a Certain ffarm or 
Tract of Laud Scituate lying & being at Winnissimct in the Town- 
ship of Boston aforesaid Consisting of Upland and Marsh Con- 
taining by Estimation Three hundred Acres or thereabouts, being 
bounded Westerly by the Land of John Center called Centers 
ffariu, Southerly by a Creek and by the Land of the Widow 
Eustice; Easterly by the Eiver, Northerly partly by a Creek & 
partly by the" Land of Jreland Together with the Several build- 
ings houses Ediffices & fences standing and being thereupon As 
also all the privilidges and appurtenances thereunto belonging or in 
any wise appertaining. Which said Land [the Cary farm] hous- 
ing & premisses was heretofore the Estate and Jnheritance of 
Samuel Bellingham late of the parish of S*^ Anns Westminster in 
the County of Middlesex in the Kingdom of England Esq"* de- 
ceased, who in his Lifetime A^iz* on the Sixteenth day of April 
1695 in Consideration of a Marriage then intended to be had 
between the s^ Samuel Bellingham and Elizabeth Savage then of 
the parish of S* Anns afores^ Widow , by an .Indenture or Deed of 
ft'eoffment under the hand and Seal of the s"? Bellingham (now in 
Court ready to be produced) Did grant convey and make over 
(amongst other part of his Estate) the Land Messuage and housing 
aboves<? with all his right Title Estate or interest Reversion or Re- 
versions remainder or remainders in & unto the same, unto Edward 
Hull and John Shelton Citizens of London afores^ In Trust and 
for the use of the said Samuel Bellingham and Elizabeth Savage 
during their Natural Lives in case the s^ Marriage took Etfect 
& from & after the death of the s*? Samuel Bellingham to the only 
proper use and Trust of the said Elizabeth Savage & to such uses 
as the s"? Elizabeth Savage by any Writing or Writings or by her 
Last Will & Testament in Writing should nominate and Direct, 
& in Case of no such writing or Last Will & Testam* of the s^ 
Elizabeth Savage then for the only proper use and Trust of the 
right heirs of the s*? Elizabeth Now the plt^ In fact say that the 
s^ Samuel Bellingham did afterwards intermarry with the s'.' 
Elizabeth Savage, and is since dece^, and the afores^ Elizabeth is 
also dece*? without issue or Brother and without having Conveyed 
away disposed of or Directed her use interest and Trust afores"? 
according to the Jntent or meaning of the Deed of Feoffment 
afores'.' Whereby the Estate use and interest of the afores*^ Eliza- 
beth after her decease Did Descend to the afores^ Rebecca Watts, 
as being the only Sister & next heir of the s'} Elizabeth, and 
accordingly the afores*? Edward Hull and John Shelton Trustees 
as aforcs^ bv an Indenture under the hands and Seals of them 



CiiAP. XIV] APPENDIX 2 561 

the s^ Edward Hull & John Shelton now in Court ready to be 
produced bearing date the fifth day of September 170-3 for Divers 
good causes and Considerations thereinmentioned, Did grant 
bargain Enfeoff release Convey and Confirm unto the s"? Edward 
Watts and Rebecca his s^ Wife Pl^s as afores^ the s^ Land housinsr 
and premisses, and all their Estate right Title use and Trust to 
and in the same to and for the use of the said Edward Watts and 
Kcbecca Watts and her heirs and assigns forever as in and by 
the said Deed and Deeds relation thereunto being had more fully 
and at large it doth and may appear; Nevertheless they the Def!^ 
a forest altho often thereunto requested viz* at Boston aforesaid 
by the plantiff aforesaid the possession of the said ffarm or Tract 
of Land Messuage housing and premisses aforesaid to the plant^ 
aforesaid to Deliver have hitherto neglected and refused, and do 
still neglect and refuse to Deliver the same to them 

To the Damage of the said Edward Watts and Rebecca 
his Wife as they say the Sum of One thousand pounds 
Which shall then and there be made to Appear, with other 
due Damages : And have you there this W^itt with your 
Doings therein. Witness Elisha Hutchinson Esqr. At 
Boston, this Twenty eighth Day of August In the ffifth 
Year of Our Reign. Annoquc Domini 1706 

Addington Davenport Cler 

The Defts plead they are only Ten^s 
vnd"" James Allen Clerk, who they 
desire may be vouch'd Jn*' Valentin 

[Endorsed on the back of the writ] : — 
The s*? James Allen Clerke pleads 

not guilty John Floyd : The Deft allows the p't^ Title 

as set forth in the Writ. 
Att? Ad : Davenport Cler 

Suffolk ss : Boston August 29"^ 1706 

By Vertue of this Writt J have attached the body of the within 
named Abigail Townsend and have taken bond of her to the Value 
of one Thousand pounds in money by the p'*^ order and have like- 
wise Attached one Table & one Warming pann in the house of the 
within named Johnathan Townsend and have left a Summons at 
said house 

Giles Dyer Sheriff ^ 

' r Endorsed on back when folded: " Watts et ux v. Townsends. October 
170(1."] 

VOL. I. — ;JG 



562 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIV 

[Judgment in the Inferior Court * 

At an Inferiour Court of Common Pleas begun at Boston Jan- 
uary 7, 1T06 [1707] " Edward Watts of the Parish of S^ Buttolph 
.^ , , , Aldgate in the City of London in the Kingdom of 

England Sawyer and Rebecca his Wife Plan^^ ^. 
™ , o Abigail Townsend Relict Widow of Samuel Town- 

send late of Winnissimmet within the Township 
of Boston in the County of Suffolk Yeoman, and Jonathan Town- 
send of Winnissimet afores*^ Husbandman Defend^^ In a plea of 
Trespass and Ejectment . . . [recites verbatim the above writ] 
. . . To the damage of the said Edward Watts and Rebecca his 
Wife as they say the sum of One thousand pounds. This plea was 
commenced at the Inferiour Court in October last past, the above- 
named Abigail Townsend and Jonathan Townsend then appearing 
by John Valentine their Attorney pleaded they were only Tenants 
under James Allen Clerk whom they Desire may be vouched, and 
the said James Allen now appearing by his Attorney pleads not 
Guilty ; Upon which issue being Joined the case after a full hear- 
ing was coinitted to the Jury who were sworn according to Law to 
try the same & returned their Verdict therein upon Oath That is 
to say They find for the Def ^ Costs of suit It 's therefore Con- 
sidered BY the Court That the said James Allen shall recover 
against the said Edward Watts and Rebecca his Wife Costs of 
Suit; The Plan*^? appealed from this Judgment unto the next 
Superiour Court of Judicature to be holden for this County and 
entred into Recognizance with Suretys as the Law directs for 
prosecuting of their said Appeal with Effect. 1?* Jury/^-*^" 

Reasons of Appeal of Edivard and Rebecca Watts ^ 

Suffolk ss. To the Hono'^'f Her Majt'^s Superiour Court of Ju- 
dicature holden at Boston for the County of Suffolke 
on the first Tuesday in May 1707- 
Edward Watts & ^ The App't^ Reasons of Appeal from a Judg- 
ment given agamst them at her Majt.ies In- 
feriour Court of Comon Pleas holden at 
Boston for s<? County on the First Tuesday of 
January last past, when and where the App'!^ 
were Plant^ & Abigail Townsend & Jonathan Townsend Def*? and 

* MSS. Records, 1706-1710, pp. 2, 3. A certified copy is filed in Suff. 
Early Court Files. No. 7402. 

° Suff. Early Court Files, No. 7402; copy certified by the clerk of the 
Superior Court. 



Rebecca his Wife 

AppelH^ 
James Allen Def*^ 



CiiAP. XIV] APPENDIX 2 563 

afterwards by Rule of Court, the said James Allen was Admitted 
Def? in their Room 

The Action was an Action of Tresspass and Ejectm* for Re- 
covering the possession of a Certain ffarm at Wimiissimit within 
the Township of Boston as p Writ will more at large appear To 
w*^^ the s"? James Allen pleaded not Guilty, and so the cause went 
to the Jury who found far the s*^ James Allen Costs of Court,* 
& Judgmt accordingly, from which Judgment the App't^ Appealed 
for the following Reasons to this Hono^'? Court. 

1. For that the Apples Right and Title to the ffarm in Contro- 
versy as set forth in the Writ was own'd & agreed to by the 
Def* & if there be any Doubt of that the AppU^ can fully prove 
it in every particular. 

2. The Deft never proved produced or indeed pretended any 
Right at all to the ffarm in Controversy but Insisted only and 
wholly on it that the Appollt^ could not pretend to Derive a Title 
as heir at Law to Richard Bellingham Esqr dece^ ffor that the s*^ 
Bellingham left a Last Will & Testam*^ in which he has Disposed 
of his Estate from his heir at Law to other uses to which your 
Appl*? then made & now again make Answer as followeth Vizt 
That true it is the Lands in Controversy were Originally the Estate 
and Inheritance of Richard Bellingham Esq? dece^ & who dyed 
Seized thereof, & that the said Bellingham left an Instrum* in 
Writing behind him Called his Last Will and Testament wherein 
he doth order his Estate in Winnisimet to be Disposed of in & 
to such & such uses. But then y^" App'*^ hope this Hon^'f Court 
will Consider 

1^* That were that Will now in force yet the Estate in Law in 
those Lands Continue still in the heir, for that tho the profits of 
them are behoved and Devised to such and such Uses, Yet the 
Lands themselves are not Devised to any one thorowout that whole 
Will as it is called, & the ffeoffees in Trust make the most of it 
have only an Action against the heir or Tenant for the profits. 

2. The General Court of this Province in the year 1676 after 
long & due Consideration of this pretended Will of Gov? Belling- 
ham did adjudge it to be Illegal null & void in Law as will appear 
by their act or order, & your Applt^ hope this Hon*'!*^ Court will 
Consider how Illegal and Dangerous it will be for the Inferiour 
Courts or a Jury of twelve Men to Overthrow a matter so maturely 
setled and Determined in the Day of it, by the General Court of 
ibis Countrey now above Thirty yeares since, whore there hath 
been many purchases & Conveyances of that Estate Pursuant to 
the order of the General Court. 



5G4 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIV 

3. The Deft ^.^^^ pretend to no Trust in the said Estate till 
after the Death of y^ Grand Daughter of Governour Bellingham 
by the very words of the Instrum^ it Self, now she is yet Living 

4. The AppH^ & those under whom they claim Enjoyed this 
ifarm thro the years of possession Viz' from 1692 to ITUl & lieced 
the Rents & profits thereof & by the Law of this province that 
is not only a Confirmation but a Title of it Self — 

All which matters and things 
being Considered by this Hono^'? 
Court, your AppP? Doubt not but 
they shall obtain Reversion of the 
former Judgment possession of 

Boston Apl 2 1st 1707 the ffarm in Controversy & Costs 

of Courts. 

A true Copy P. Dudley pro Appellt'^"^ 

Exam*? 

P Addington Davenport Cler 

A true Copy of the Original 

on file Exam^ p Elisha Cooke Clr.« 

James Allen s Answer to the Reasons of Appeal "^ 

Suffolk ss. To the hon^'f her Ma'^ Justices of the Superiour 
Court of Judicature to be holden at Boston for the County of 
Suffolk the first Tuesday in May 1707. 

Watts & his wife Ap't^ \ The Defte answers to the appel*? Rea- 
agt [sons of Appeal from the Judgmt of an 

James Allen Deft^ J luferiour Court of Coinon pleas held at 
Boston for the said C[oun]ty the first Tuesday of Jan'"y last 
Past when & where the Ap't^ were P't^ [Abijgail and Jonathan 
Townsend Def*?, & afterwards by a Rule of [Court] the said 
James Allen was in their room admitted in an acc-on of trespas & 
Ejectm* for a Farme at Winisimitt as per writt at large appears, 
the plea and judgm* were such as the Appel' has set forth, and 
the Judgm* is right & ought to be Confirmed 

In the first reason the AppU^ have assumed, and Conclude vpon 
it, as the Apel'^ tytle was owned by the Deft at the Inform Court, 
when only to save the Courts time the Deft having inspected the 
Deeds Conveyances &c. [Deft.] might owne they were well exe- 
cuted, but that was farr from owning a good tytle in y^ A pel's ^ 

" Endorsed: "Watts 9. Allen. Reasons of Appeal RecCi into the Oflice 
April 21st 1707. ^ Ad: Davenport Cler." 

' Suff. Early Court Files, No. 7402. Paper No. 6. 



Chap. XIV] APPENDIX 2 5G5 

had it been so 'tis not to be doubted the Jury would have sav'd 
'em the trouble of this Appeal. 

3 the AppeP? second IJeason is very ill founded, or has rather no 
foundation at all For certaine it is, that the Feoffees in trust w'^^ 
now (survives to this Deft) were well vested [in] the Estate by virtue 
of Gov^" Bellinghams Will imediatly after his death, & it can never 
be devised (contrary to the Rules laid downe by y^ AppeF^) but 
a Devise of the issues & profitts of lands is a Devise of the land 
it selfe so 'twas adjudged in Cooks reports betwixt parker & 
Palmer where 'tis said to have the issues & profitts, & to have the 
land is all one; & so say all our Books of Law, but the Def*^ need 
not to insist on that, or any other tytle but his bare possession, 
w?^ alone is a better tytle than y^ apeF? have yet discovered or 
pretended to, according to that ancient rule in Law, Melior est 
conditio possidentis quam p[eten]tis & if they would recover they 
must do it of their own strength, not by any weaknes they wou'd 
seem to discover in the Def'^ tytle, for they having no right can- 
not suffer wrong by the Def*^ possion w^'^ is always favour'd in 
Law as an argum* of right of it selfe & So the Def* Concludes 
that the heir at law neithv had, nor any deriving from him have or 
can have the Estate in Law in the lands in Controversy 

1^\ But the Appel^^ vnwilling to rely vpon the weakness of 
this argumt have insisted that Govern^" Bellinghams Will at a 
Gen" Court of this Province in (76) was adjudged null & void. 
& so they Conclude & depend vpon it that the same is without 
Effect, To w^^^ 'tis under favour answer'd & with all imaginable 
deference & submission to Gen'^ Courts That the matter in dispute 
about the validity of the s*^ Will was wholly out of the Cognizance 
and JurisditTm of that Gen'' Court, then Especially called. For 
it was at a time when the Province was und'^" the old charter Gov- 
ernmt, and that s*^ Charter do's [it's] true Give the GovernV & 
assistants a Legislative power to make Laws [&c] and invests them 
with an authority to settle the Magistracy of the plantation & 
to Elect & appoint all Sorts of officers Superiour & Inferiour & 
to sett forth the powers and limits ; but no where inables the 
General Assembly, to Erect themselv's in a Court of Judicature, 
as they did 

2 That the General Court, Invested with the powers before 
recited Did by virtue of the s^ Charter Erect Courts of Judicature, 
Constitute & make Judges ]\Lagistrates & Officers of the Law, 
within the Province witli whom was lodged, & to whom was Comit- 
ted [the] Executive part of the Law; And the Def^ do's averr, & 
can read[ily ma]ke appear that the s^ Will of Gov? Bellingham, 
was bona fide prov'd allow'd and recorded before the Magistrates 
that then had the proper Jurisdicnin and who were rightfully 



5G6 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIV 

Chosen & Qualified by the Generall Court to these & Such like 
ends & purposes, & so was a will as well prov'd to all intents & 
purposes as could be, or the Law did require 

3 It must needs therefore follow that the Act & judgmt of the 
Generall C[ourt] respecting the Said will was ipso facto void as 
being, C[oram] non judice & therefore ought not in the least to 
])rejudice [or] obstruct the Deft in the faithfull discharge of the 
trust reposed in & by the said Will, and therefore it will neith^ 
be Illegal or dangerous for the Courts of Comon Law (as the 
Apel* seems to app^hend) to reduce this Will to [its?] place, but 
on the other hand it will be very danger [ous] & of ill Consequence, 
If this matter should not be settl[ed] and regulated according to 
Law, w?^ with humble submission is in the power of this honb" 
Court. For l^t It is both the Law of God & man that a man's 
will should be observ'd & fullfilled. The Maxim is Ultima Volun- 
tas Testatoris perimplenda est secundum veram Intentionem 

2 The Govcrnmt & acts of this Province by the Generall Court, 
rre to agree with, and are Circumscrib'd by the powers & author- 
i tyes granted by the Charter and these things w?^ doubted of may 
properly be bro* in judgm* and are no where so properly dis- 
putable as in the Courts of CoiTion Law. 

3 That the Courts of Comon Law are obliged to Judge & de- 
termine of Such matters when they come judictaly before them, 
according to Law. 

4 The Courts of Coinon Law in England, (the parlamt there 
having a farr greater poAver & authority in all things then ever 
was granted by a Charter to the plantations) have frequently 
Judged, of the affairs of the parlamt as what was or was not a 
good session of parliam* : and what was or was not an Act of 
parliam*, and the Judges have declared it was their Office & duty so 
to do, w? such matters came before y"? w?"^ the Def^? Councell are 
ready to argue from y^ authorityes in the Law. 

5 [ ] Jurisdiccon of the Gen" Court was not only Incom- 
petent [but] what they then did had if been Coram judice can 
]]ever operate to destroy & make null the said Will, Because the 
Act of Assembly rely'd on by the AppeF?, wants those Enacting 
Clauses which are absolutely necessary to the making of a good 
Act in Law w"?^ the Def*^ is ready to shew forth to the Court 

To the 3<^ reason it is answer d the [GrandD]aughter neith? 
hath, nor can pretend to any interest [or ri]ght to the lands 
in Controversy, the said Will having particulerly devis'd* y^ 
to other vses, & if she really has a right, the appel* has given up 
the CausT for by saying so, he excludes his owne pretence ; & then 
must allow that the Def^^ possession (as before was hinted) is 
better than the appel*^ Tytle 



Chap. XIV] ' APPENDIX 2 567 

4. Eeason 'Tis preposterous That the Appel*^ should pretend to 
the right & possession of the Lands in Controversy, & yet sue them- 
selves out, for the sake of a Tytle, but the Contrary is most plain, 
our very Tennants in whose room the Appelle is deft, vi^ere the 
persons orriginally sued in this action, who without the Apel^s hint 
will be mindfull to Confirme their Tytle (if need be) by pleading 
the Law of possession, but w*"^ no other designe, but to Execute 
the pious vses mencond & declared in the s^ Will 

The Appel* in his Eeasons setts forth, there has bin several 
Conveyances pass'd of the lands since the s^ Will was frown'd 
vpon, the ApelP^ Answers, there was nev? any Conveyance of this 
land in Controversy, & if there had, the Eule is Caveat Emptor, 
& no doubt the purchaser wou'd observe this Rule, & gett good 
Warrantys & Covenants from y*' Grantor, especially bee? the Tytle 
must be precarious 

All w*^*^ with w* will be furth"" argued is humbly submitted to 
this hon^i^ Court, not doubting yo"" hon""^ & y® Jury will Confirme 
the former Judgmn* & allow full Costs to the Deft 

Jno Valentine Attory 
for The Appellee.* 
The Bill of Costs ' 

Suffolk ss. At an Infr Court in Octr 1706. 
Watts & ux ^ ^^^ ^^p^ ^^^.^^ 2 - 

... ,,„ T J.1 V attendance of two defts 2 days 8 — 

AbigaL'& Jonathn ( ... . '' a m 

™ * , Attorneys fee 10 — 

lownsend j •' 

pd for addmittance of Mr Allen in ye room of ye To\vn- 

sends 1 — - 

pd for the Contiil 1 — 

Copyes of papers in ye tryall 4 — 

Attending ye Court in Janry two dayes 3 — 

for Copy of the reasons of appeal 3 — 

Examng & taxing &c 3 2 

May Superiour Court 1707 f 1 : 15 : 2 

Examd per Ad: Davenport Cler 
Same ) ^^^ attending ye Court 2 dayes — 3 — 

.,y „, , (Attorneys Fee 12 — 

Allen Clarke ) -^ 

for divers Records papers &c. for the tryal 1 2 — 

filing papers exam'g 0:4-0 

& taxing 0:1-0 

3 19 

3 17 
Examd per Elisha Cooke Cler : 

' Endorsed: " [ ] Aliens Ansrs To ye Reasons of Appeal." 

» SufT. Early Court Files, No. 7402. Paper No. 8. There are two 
copies; the second attested as well as examined by Elisha Cooke. 



5G8 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIV 

Watts vs. Allen — Action by Review 
Writ of Attachment ^^ 

Anne by the Grace of God of England Scotland France and 
Ireland Queen Defender of the Faith &c. 
Suffolk ss. To the Sheriff of our County of Suffolk his Under 

(Seal) Sheriff or Deputy Greeting 

Wee Command you to Attach the goods or Estate of 
James Allen of Boston within our County of Suffolk Clerk, 
otherwise Called James Allen Clerk, to the value of one Thousand 
pounds & for want thereof to take the Body of the said James 
Allen (if he may be found in your precinct) and him Safely 
keep so that you have him before our Justices of our Superiour 
Court of Judicature next to be holden at Boston within & for our 
said County of Suffolk on the first Tuesday of November next, 
then & there in our said Court to Answer unto Edward Watts of 
the Parish of S* Buttolph Aldgate in the City of London in the 
Kingdom of England Sawyer and Eebecca his Wife : In a plea 
of Eeview of a plea of Tresspass & Ejectment Commenced by the 
said Edward AVatts and Eebecca his Wife Plantiffs against Abigail 
Townsend Eelict Widow of Samuel Townsend late of Winnisim- 
mett within the Township of Boston in the County of Suffolk 
yeoman & Jonathan Townsend of Winnisimmctt aforesaid Hus- 
bandman Defendants at an Inferiour Court of Common Pleas 
Begun & held at Boston within & for the County of Suffolk 
afores*^ on the first Tuesday of October In the fifth year of our 
Ecign Annoq Dom 1706. for that the Defendants have Illegally 
Entered into & do with hold from the Plant^ the possession of a 
Certain Farm or Tract of Land, Scituate lying & being at Win- 
nisimet in the Township of Boston afores'' Consisting of Upland 
& Marish, Containing by Estimation Three hundred Acres or 
thereabouts being bounded Westerly by the Land of John Center 
Called Centers farm, Southerly by a Creek & by the Land of the 
Widow Eustice, Easterly by the Eiver, Northerly partly by n 
Creek & partly by the Land of [William] Ireland together wit'i 
the Several Buildings houses Edifices & fences. Standing & being 
there upon; As also the priviledges and Appurtenances ther.' 
unto belonging or in any Wise Appertaining, which said Land 
housing & premisses was heretofore the Estate & Inheritance of 
Samuel Bellingham late of the Parish of S* Anns Westminster 
in the County of Middlesex in the Kingdom of England Esq"^ 

"" Suff. Early Court Files, No. 7402. Paper No. 1. 



Chap. XIV] APPENDIX 2 5G9 

deced who in his life time, to wit on the Sixteenth day of April 
1695, In Consideration of a Marriage they Intended to be had 
between the said Sam" Bellinghani & Elizabeth Savage then of 
the Parish of S'^ Anns afores^ Widow, by an Indenture or Deed 
of Feoffment under the hand & Seal of the s^ Bellingham now in 
Court ready to be produced did grant Convey & make over 
(amongst other part of his Estate the Land Messuage & housing 
abovesaid with all his Right Title Estate or Interest, Reversion 
or Reversions Remainder or Remainders in & unto the same, unto 
Edward Hull and John Shelton Citizens of London afores*^- In 
Trust & for the Use of the said Sam" Bellingham & Elizabeth 
Savage during their Natural lives in Case the said Marriage took 
Effect & from & after the Death of the said Sam" Bellingham to 
the only proper Use & Trust of the s^ Elizabeth Savage, & to Such 
Uses as She the s*^ Elizabeth Savage by any Writing or Writings 
or by her Last Will & Testament in Writing should Nominate 
& direct. And in Case of no Such Writing or Last Will & Testa- 
ment of the said Elizabeth Savage then for the only proper Use 
& Trust of the Right heirs of the said Elizabeth. Now the Plant^ 
in fact say, that the s^ Sam" Bellingham did afterwards Inter- 
marry with the said Elizabeth Savage & is since defed and the 
afores*^ Elizabeth is also deced witliout Issue or Brother and with- 
out having Conveyed away disposed of or directed her Use In- 
terest & Trust afores*^ According to the Intent & Meaning of the 
Deed of Feoffment afores*^. Whereby the Estate Use & Interest 
of the afores*^ Elizabeth after her decease did descend to the afores*^ 
Rebecca Watts as being the only Sister & next heir of the s*? Eliza- 
beth, And Accordingly the afores*^ Edward Hull & John Shelton 
Trustees as afores*? by an Indenture under the hands & Seals of 
them the s*^ Edward Hull & John Shelton, now^ in Court ready 
to be produced bearing date the Fifth day of September 1702 
for diverse good Causes & Considerations therein mentioned did 
grant bargaine Enfeoff Release Convey and Confirm unto the s^ 
Edward Watts & Rebecca his s*^ Wife Plan*^ as afores*^ the s*^ Land 
h.ousing & premisses And all their Estate Right Title Use & Trust 
to & in the Same to & for the use of the s*^ Edward Watts & 
Rebecca AVatts & her heirs & Assignes forever. As in & by the s^ 
Deed & Deeds Relation there unto being had more fully & at large 
it doth & may Appear. Nevertheless they the Defend*^ afores*^ 
altho often thereunto Requested to wit at Boston afores*^ by the 
Plants afores*^ the possession of the s^ farm or Tract of Land 
Messuage housing & premisses afores*^ to the plan*^ afores*^ to 
deliver have hitherto neglected & Refused & do Still neglect & 
Refuse to deliver the same to them to the damage of the s^ Edward 



570 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIV 

Watts & Eebecca his Wife as tliey say the sum of one Thousand 
pounds At which said Court the within Named Abigail Town- 
send & Jonathan Townsend then Appearing by John Valentine 
their Attorny pleaded they were only Tenants under James Allen 
Clerk whom they desired might he Vouched, And the s^ James 
Allen Appearing At an Inferiour Court of Common Pleas Begun 
& held at Boston for & within the County of Suffolk on the first 
Tuesday of January being the seventh day of the s*^ Month 1706 
pleaded Not Guilty: When & where Judgment was Rendered 
for the Def* Costs of Suit, from wdiich Judgment the s*^ Edward 
Watts & Rebecca his s*^ Wife Appealed to the Superiour Court of 
Judicature Begun & held at Boston for & within our County of 
Suffolk afores^ on Tuesday May the Sixth In the Sixth year of our 
Reign xVnnoq. Domini 1707 where Judgment was Rendered for 
the Appellee Confirmation of the former Judgment & Cost of 
Courts Which Judgment they the s** Edward Watts & Rebecca 
his s^ Wife say is wrong & Erroneous and that they are thereby 
damnified the Sum of one Thousand pounds Money as shall then 
& there be made to Appear: for the Reversing whereof & Recov- 
ering of the possession of the s^ Farme or Tract of Land together 
with the s*^ Several Buildings, Edifices fences privildges and 
Appurtenances there unto belonging they the s*^ Edward Watts & 
the s^ Rebecca his s^ Wife bring this Suit as also for their own 
Cost & damage Occasioned thereby. And have you there this 
Writt with your doings therein Witness Samuel Sewall Esq"^ 
At Boston the fifteenth day of October In the Sixth year of our 
Reign Annoq. Doni 1707. 

Elisha Cooke Cler: 
The Judgm*? are right. 

J : Valentine atty for Deft*^ 
Suffolk ss. Boston Oeto^: y? 20*^ 1707. 

By Vertue of this Writt I have Attached the Dwelling house 
of the within named James Allen lyeing in Boston which was 
Shown unto me by the P'*^ to be his Estate and likewise left a 
Sunmions at his house with his daughters. 

Giles Dyer Sheriff" 

Bill of Costs " 

At An Inferiour Court of Pleas at Boston the first tuesday of January 
1700. 

Edward Watts & Rebeckah his wife plantiffs 
James Alien By Rule of Court Deft 

" Endorsed: "Watts vs. Allen." For the judgment of tlie Court, see 
supra, p. 548. 

>- Suff. Early Court Files, No. 7402. Paper No. 9. 



Chap. XIV] 



APPENDIX 2 



571 



Costes for the PLantfs 

Writ summons & service £:0-6-0 

Entring the action — & Fee 1-0-0 

continuance from October court 0-1-0 

attendance at October court 2 days - G - 

to the Jury at January court 0-12-0 

at January court attendance 1 day 0-3-0 

appeal & Recognisance 0-3-0 

Copiee of the Case 0-16-6 

Filing papers exam. & taxing costs 0-3.4 

3 = 10=10 
Exanifl per Ad : Davenport Cler 

At A Superiour Court In IMay 1707. 
Watts & Uxor Appellants James Allen Deft 

Entring the appeal and Jury l_5_(j 

2 days attendance 0-6-0 

Attorneys fee 0-12-0 

Filing papers &e " 4 : 6 

2= S= 
Review of the same Cause In Novemr; 1707. 

Writt & Service 0-6-0 

Attendance 4 days . ; 0-12-0 

Copies of the Case and originall £ : 5 = 18= 

Attorneys fee 0-12-0 

7= 8= 
At ]\Iay Superior Court In May 1708. 

Attendance 4 days 0=12^ 

Costes paid by Edw<1 Watts to Mr Allen's Attorney .... 3=17= 

filing papers Examing " 6 " — 

Taxing Costs " 3 " — 

4=18 

Examd per Elisha Cooke Cler £0 - 6-0 

- 0-3-0 

0- 6-0 

0-12-0 

0-12-0 

1-19-0 

Sums of the Cost 

Imprimis £3-10-0 

Item 2-8-0 

It 7-8-0 

It 4-18-0 

18- 4- 
Watts's Attendance is Double Chargd, for which nuist be 

deducted 0-19- 6 

£17- 4 . 6 
May, 11th 1708. Allowed Seventeen pounds, four Sliillings, and Six 
Pe"ce Per Samuel Sewall.J 



572 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Cn.vp. XV 



CHAPTEE XV 

THE CI.EEGY OF BOSTO^^ MAKE AX ADDKESS TO THE 
GENERAL COURT 

THE Bellingliam estates bad been in litigation for more 
than tbirtv-five years. In 1G76 tbe General Conrt set 
aside tbe will, as bas been so often said, and in 1708 tbe 
Superior Court, tbree judges to one, gave tbe same judgment. 
Yet in June, 1709, tbe Congregational clergy of Boston made 
one more effort in an address to tbe General Court. 

To bis Excellency Josepb Dudley Esq?, 

With tbe Honorable Council and Eepresentatives, of 
tbe Province of tbe Massacbuscts-Bay now in 
General Court assembled : 
Tbe Address of sundry Ministers of tbe Gospel. 

Having been informd, tbat tbe Hon^'? Eicbard Bellingliam 
EsqVj wbo Avas for many Years tbe Governour of tbis Colony, did 
by bis last Will and Testament devote a considerable Part of bis 
Estate unto pious Uses; particularly tbat He instructed and em- 
powred tbose, wbom He bad made Feoffees in Trust, tbat, out of 
the Rents of bis Land, there should be erected on one of the Farms 
an Edifice, wherein the jSTeigbbourbood should assemble for tbe 
solemn Worship of God : And He willed also, tbat six or more 
young Students should be educated for the sacred Ministry; and 
this Benefaction to be annually and successively continued : 

And having understood, that tbis very pious Will was after- 
wards, and when it bad been executed for diverse Years, declared 
void in a General Court; but without the Concurrence of that 
Honorable Gentleman, wbo was then the Governour of tbe Col- 
ony ^ : Whereupon the Estate has been wholly alienated from the 
I'urposes, to which it bad been so religiously devoted; and much 
other Confusion has followed in the Application of it : 

On tbis Occasion we beg leave to express tbe Concern & Sorrow, 
which may justly be expected from such as wish well to the 
Countrey. 

^ [Governor John Lcverett.] 



CiiAP. XV] ADDRESS TO THE GENERAL COURT 573 

We know, that a Testament should be in Force, when the Tes- 
tator is dead : And if it be confirmed, (as we understand Gov- 
ernour Bdlingliam's Will was in the legal Methods) Xo Man 
ought to disannul it. (Gal iii. 15. Heb. ix. 17.) It is also a 
dangerous Thing to devour that, which is hoty. (Prov. xx. 25.) 
And, in all Nations, they have been afraid of alienating Deodands. 

Upon such Considerations, we cannot be without Fear, that, if 
a Thing of this Nature should be approved in a Countrey of our 
Profession, and by the Heads and Kepresentatives of the Prov- 
ince, it may be found among those Errors, which expose the 
Land to the Displeasure of Heaven, and be neither for our Honour 
nor our Safety. 

We have heard, that the principal Eeason, which sway'd those 
who did so far disannul the AVill of the deceased Governour with- 
out and against the Will of the then living Governour, was their 
Doubt, that He had not done well in leaving so little of his Estate 
unto his onely Son. But their Opinion has in the Providence of 
God since had a notable Confutation. - By means of their Act, 
besides the little Benefit, that the younger Bellingham had from 
it in his Life Time; the Estate is now wholly gone from the 
Family of the Bellinghams, as well as from the pious Uses de- 
signed by the Honorable Testator : And it is fallen into the Hands 
of those, who are as little disposed to do with it that Good, which 
He projected, as they are related to his Family.- - In short, an 
evident & remarkable Blast from Heaven seems to have attended 
the Matter. 

No Man can think, but that if the Religious Gentleman were 
now living, He would rather confirm this his ancient Will than 
have his Estate applied, as noAv it is. 

There was in Lincolnshire a Person of Quality, Sir George 
Senpaul, renowned for the Piety and Charity expressed in his 
last Will and Testament. Among other good AVorks, the Funeral 
Sermon upon Him tells us, He caused six Scholars to be brought 
up in the Universities, whereof several proved great Instruments 
of Good in the AVorld. Our Bellingham was a Lincolnshire Gen- 
tleman : And since He has expressed the like Piety and Charity 
in his last AVill and Testament; certainly it will be a Dishonour 
unto New England, if thro' us it be defeated. 

Considering, that it is no new Thing for a General Assembly 

' [The will of Mrs. Elizabeth Bellingham, wife of Samuel Bellingham, 
left a legacy to Harvard C'ollogo. This will had been set aside by the 
English courts on the petition of Edward and Rebecca Watts. (Supra, 
pp. 509, 513.) All the signers of this petition, except Rev. llionias Bridge, 
had served as Fellows of tl;e Col logo. J 



5<4 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XV 

to rectifie a Mistake in a proceeding Assembly; We esteemed it 
our Duty in all respectful Manner to pray, that this great Matter, 
wherein the good of the Countrey is more than a little involved, 
may be again and in the Fear of God considered ; since the Inter- 
est of Eeligion and the Souls of many; and this not onely for 
the Present Age, but in the Generations to come, is after an un- 
common Manner concerned in it.^ 
We are your Servants in the Lord 

Jncrease Mather 
June 10 . 1709. Peter Thatcher 

Thomas Bridge 
John Danforth 
Cotton Mather 
Nehemiah Walter. 
Benjamin Wadsworth. 
Ebenezer Pemberton.* 

' Neither the address, nor the action of the Assembly upon it, has been 
preserved, save as referred to in the vote of November 15. A copy of the 
former, in the hand of Samuel Mather, is in Chamberlain MSS., i. 105. 
Joseph Killer, near the close of his letter of February 1, 1709/10 {infra, 
p. 580), refers to this address to the General Covirt, adding that a hearing 
was voted in the Lower House, but refused in the LTpper. A memorandum 
[on the copy preserved among the Chamberlain manuscripts] shows that 
it \A'as of interest long after the General Court had refused to re-open the 
question of the will : 

" On the Outside Page, there is the following Endorsement by the late 
venerable Dy Increase Mather in his own Hand-Writing. 

*' J cannot but look upon the destroying of Governour Bellingham's Will 
as a very unrighteous and sacrilegious Jmpiety; and that the Countrey 
is involved in the Guilt of it. — J therefore desire, that, after my Decease, 
my Executors will take effectual Care, that this Testimony against it be 
published to the World; hoping, that, when some Persons are removed, 
there will those succeed, who will concern tliemselves to endeavour, that 
That, which is just and right in the Sight of God, shall be done. 
May 1 . 1712. Increase Mather.' 

[Endorsed] Revd Mr Mathers Letter Governor Bellingham 1709 " 

I do not know whether Dr. Increase Mather's executors regarded his 
desire, nor if Governor Joseph Dudley was one of those persons whose 
removal would have promoted right and justice by setting up Governor 
Bellingham's will. A few years before the date of this endorsement. In- 
crease and Cotton Mather had made war against Governor Dudley, which 
would not incline him to promote any affair of theirs; nor would the fact 
that his son, Paul Dudley, was attorney for Edward and Rebecca Watts. 

* [Pastors and associate pastors of the First, Second (North), and 
Third (South) churches in Boston; the church at Roxbury (Nehemiah 
Walter, whose wife was a daughter of Rev. Increase Mather) ; the 
churcli at Dorchester (John Danforth) ; and the church at Milton (Peter 
Thatcher, whose first wife was a daughter of Rev. John Oxenbridge, a 



Chap. XV] ADDRESS TO THE GENERAL COURT 575 

The General Court answered November 15, 1709: "Upon 
Eeading an Address of sev'^ : Ministers relating to y^ : Will of 
Eichard Bellingham Esq'": Dec^: made void by the Order of the 
General Court of the late Colony of the Massachusets with the 
Eesolve pass'd thereon in the House of Eepresent^*^^ : Viz, 

That the Act of the General Court Septem'": 6^1^ : 1676, referring 
to the Will mentioned in this Petition was wrong & ought to be 
made null & void : Voted a jSTon-Concurrence." ^ 

trustee under Governor Bellinghani's will). Dr. Colman, pastor of the 
Brattle Square Church in Boston, did not sign.] 
« MSS. Records of the Council, 1703-1709, p. 502. 



576 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVI 



CHAPTER XVI 



A LONG TKUCE 



THE refusal of the General Court in I^^ovember, 1709, to 
reopen the Bellingham will case, and the death, Septem- 
ber 22, 1710, of Rev. James Allen, who had resolutely fought 
to secure the Winnisinunet estates for the pious uses intended 
l)j the old governor, led to a truce of nearly fifty years. Some 
time in 1710 Edward Watts with his wife Rebecca, and be- 
tween 1711 and 1715, Elizabeth Bellingham, came from Lon- 
don to Boston. Doubtless Edward and Rebecca Watts had 
found litigation expensive, and, from remoteness, troublesome. 
Doubtless, also, they thought it best to take charge of their 
estates. Joseph Hiller had been their agent and attorney. 
One account of his stewardship is given below.^ 

When it became apj^arent after the death of Elizabeth 
Savage Bellingham in February, 1698, that the Bellingham 
estates would pass to Rebecca Watts, her sister and sole heir, 
wife of Edward Watts of London, the latter made an agree- 
ment April 25, 1699, known by its recital, to pay to Eliza- 
beth Bellingham, daughter of Samuel, certain proportions of 
the rents and proceeds from sales of the Bellingham estates.^ 
This arrangement for the division of rents and profits probably 
continued until November 1, 1715, when Elizabeth Belling- 
ham, having returned to Boston, in consideration of £80 and an 
annuity of £50 secured by a mortgage on the Townsend or 
Cary farm,^ quitclaimed to Edward Watts, the younger, all 
arrearages due under the agreement of April 25, 1699, and 
cancelled the same. She also relinquished her claims to the 
estate of her grandfather, the governor. 

I can add but little to the subsequent history of Elizabeth 
Bellingham, last of the old governor's lineage. She was living 

^ Infra, pp. 579-581. 
"^ Infra, pp. 581-583. 
« Sufl'. Deeds, L. 30, f. 62. 



Chap. XVI] A LONG TRUCE 577 

in Boston, March 30, 1742,^ apparently in respectable cir- 
cumstances, for in 1720 she was one of " seven Single persons 
sitting- in the Fore-seat," whom Madam Winthrop " pro- 
pounded, one and another," to Chief Justice Sewall, as eligible 
to succeed his lately deceased wife.^ But he thought '' none 
would do," mainly, it may be conjectared, because Madam her- 
self, widow of his predecessor in office, was the object of the 
venerable suitor's matrimonial scheme. Elizabeth Belling- 
liam's father. Dr. Samuel Bellingham, probably without 
intending it, disinherited her by his marriage settlement with 
Elizabeth Savage, his second wife, so that on the hitter's 
death, as we have seen, the Bellingham estates passed to 
Edward and Rebecca AYatts, who appear to have treated her 
fairly. Though they acquired these estates without original 
cost, the defence of their title, both here and in England, was 
expensive.^ 

After the apparently decisive defeat of the clerical party 
in their effort to secure the Bellingham estates for ecclesiastical 
uses, and the arrangement with Elizabeth Bellingham, given 
above, the Watts family might have reasonably hoped to enjoy 
their property without further molestation. Three of the 
great Ijclliugham farms were theirs. The fourth farm, seized 
by Richard Wharton for his services, was irrevocably gone, 
though we shall hear more about it. 

But neither Edward nor Rebecca Watts long enjoyed their 
estates, for he died in 1714, and she in 1715. Her will, [pro- 
bated] April 15, 1715,^ mentions a daughter Rebecca, sons 
Edward, Samuel, and Daniel. After various legacies, she 
devises one half of her estate to her eldest son, Edward, and 

* [See a receipt for her annuity, dated September 28, 1742, among 
Chamberlain MSS., i. 157. In a writ dated September 19, 1757, it is said 
that she died February 3, 1745. Infra, p. 611.] 

" Sewall, Diary, iii. 262. 

' In the suits of Watts vs. Allen, Paul Dudley, son of the governor, 
was counsel for the Watts family, and between March 22, 1716/17, and 
March 22, 1717/18, Edward Watts the younger (his father being dead), 
made two mortgages, aggregating £350, on the Ferry farm, to Paul Dudley; 
these were discharged November 29, 1722. (SuflF. Deeds, L. 31, f. 94.) They 
may have been in payment of fees, or to add capital needed for his large 
business. It is noticeable that he covenants as sole o\\'ner, whereas his 
title under his mother's will was one undivided half. [Neither of his 
brothers, Samuel or Daniel, had attained his majority.] 

' Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 18, f. 456; also supra, p. 329. 
VOL. I. — 37 



578 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVI 

the other half to Samuel and Daniel. Apparently she died 
in the mansion house ^ near the ferry. The farms remained 
undivided until 1728, Edward occupying that at the ferry, 
which he carried on with the inn and a very considerable local 
trade. After his death in 1727, his widow, Anne Antram, 
married Thomas Greaves of Charlestowm, who seems to have 
taken up the business of her former husband.^ Edward Watts 
left a large estate, an inventory of which is given. ^"^ June 25, 
1728, there was a partition of the real estate, Thomas Greaves 
and his wife taking the Gary farm, Samuel Watts the Ferry 
farm and ferry, and Daniel the Carter farm. 

* [Presumably in tlie ancient tavern, marked on the plan, supra, p. 294. 
The mansion house dates from a later period. May 10, 1734, Benjamin 
Lynde wrote that he went " with horse over ferry to Watts', where dined 
in his new house." Diaries of Benj. Lynde and of Benj. Lynde, Jr., 53. 
See also supra, p. 297; also the letter of John Tudor, supra, p. 334.] 

* [June 23, 1728, Thomas Greaves, a physician, married Mrs. Ann Watts; 
June 25, 1728, as stated in the text, the divisional agreement was signed, by 
which Samuel Watts became the owner of the Ferry farm. At the January 
term of the Suff. Co. Court in 1728/9, Samuel Watts of Boston, innholder, 
and Thomas and Anne Greaves of Charlestown, as administrators of the 
estate of Edward Watts, late of Boston, innholder, brought suit against 
William Burgis. Court Records, 1728-1729, p. 298. Su'pra,-p. 308, note 41.J 

^° Supra, p. 323. 



Chap. XVI] APPENDIX 57*.) 



APPENDIX 

Letter feom Joseph Hiller to Edward Watts * 

Boston Feby 1st 1709/10 
Mr Edward Watts 

SV I wrote you some time since by two Vessells tliat I had rec? 
yours by the Man of War and Cap* Eason and that I had rec^ the 
Deeds by both of them when I had only roe'.' those by Cap* Eason 
Cap* ]\[athews the Cap* of the Man of War being arrived I did not 
question but he had brought one Sett, but by some mistake those 
that should have come by him were left behind and he only 
brought a Letter from Cosen Hiller. There being an opportunity 
by Two Men of War viz* the Dragon and the Guernsey I sent the 
Sett of Dee'ds I rec^ by Cap* Eason back again by the Dragon with 
a Coppy of the Letter by the Guernsey and Reasons why they were 
not Authentick viz* for want of Witnesses that were bound here 
that could have testified to the execution of them there, but for 
want of such I could not get them proved here ; I sent only the 
Deeds, the other Papers I have, but I am as far from having any 
Deeds as ever I was. I hope you will take extraordinary care that 
I have one Sett well executed.^ I take notice of your sending 
me word to Send the Eents to your Self, and that you have done 
with mV Hall. Accordingly I have sent by Cap* Teat Commander 
of her Majesties Ship Reserve, as p bill of Lading inclosed, Two 
hundred Fourty two Ounces of Silver money and Bullion and Two 
Ounces and a half and three penny weight of Coined Gold on 
your acco** also Two peices of Brazile Gold in the Same bag to 

^ Chamberlain MSS., 1. 109. 

' [By deed dated July 2, 1709, Edward and Rebecca Watts of the 
"Parish of St. Botolph Aldgate in the City of London," and "Elizabeth 
Bellingham of the Parish of St. Giles Cripplegate London aforesd. Spin- 
ster," conveyed to Joseph Hiller for £400 " Lawful money of New England " 
a messuage in Boston. John Gore and John Russell, the last two of six 
witnesses to the signatures, made oath to the same on the first Tuesday of 
October, 1710, and the deed was recorded October 5 in SufT. Deeds, L. 25, 
f. 130. This property was in the possession of Joseph Hiller as early as 
April, 1707. (Boston Rec. Com. Rep., xxix. 18.3, 184.) It was the mansion 
house of Governor Bellingham, and, according to this deed, was lately in 
the occupation of John Cotta, Jr. See supra, p. 551, for the suit by whicli 
Edward Watts obtained possession; also, infra, p. 582.] 



580 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVI 

be delivered to Cosen Kathanl' Hiller in Leaden Hall Street for 
my Friend M?' Coney to buy Pools Annotations on the Old and 
New Testaments ^ I Pray deliver them the First opportunity he 
being urgent to have them come by the first good Ship for Boston 
I rec*? Mv Brentnall's * Eent almost all in Silver the Eest of the 
Eents in Paper money ,_ which with much difficulty I got changed 
for Silver, which is extraordinary Scarce, the People give two and 
a half p Cent and Some more for the Exchange I concluding 
money would be very acceptable with you I strove to get it in and 
send it. Youl'e see by the Acco**^ I have charged no Comissions 
nor any thing for Exchange of the Paper for Silver which would 
have amounted to between Thirteen and Fourteen pounds. I 
wrote you in my last that the Two m?" ]\Iather3 with the Pest of 
the Ministers in Boston had Petitioned the Generall Court for a 
new hearing of Governour Bellingham's Will, and that the Lower 
house as they did before (you know) had Voted a hearing of it, 
You may conclude I was not wanting in what I could do; when 
it came to the Upper house they refused to act in it by a Major part 
and I hope are discouraged from medling with it any more, 
especially as I wrote you before, if you and your Family comes 
over and Settles here. I wish you and your Family well I pray 
God give 3'OU all a Safe Passage over. M?" Moorcock is troubled 
he has no aecot* from his Friends nor you concerning what he 
wrote to them [and] he saith he could have ordered his money 
there to more advantage. I have forgot the Place to direct to you 
I sent the last directed to mV [Hall?] for you I think to inclose 
these to Cozen Hiller for you. 

The Tennants and m?" Giles ^ desires to be remembred to you 
and would be glad of you and your Family's coming Over. 
My Service to Mad'P Bellingham mV Hall, with mine and my 
Wives Service to your Self and Wife and Family I Pemain 
Yo'^' assured Friend To Command 

Joseph Hiller 

The Account referred to above * 

1709 Mr Edward Watts — Dr 

May To Cash pd Doctr Cutler n yv Order 2:10: — 

To Ditto paid Postage of Sundry Letters — Via 

Philadelphia for you — :3:6 

^ [Matthew Poole, Synopsis eriticorum Scripturae, London, 1G69-1676, 
4 vols.] 

■* [Tenant on the Ferry farm, supra, p. 29G.] 

^ [Thomas Gyles was lessee of the ferry from Boston to Winnisimmet. 
Infra, chap, xxiv.l 

» Chamberlain MSS., i. 103. 



CiiAP. XVI] APPENDIX 581 

Jany: 30 To Ditto to my Brentnalls Daughter and Boy 
when ree^ Rent Ferrages Sundry Times . . 
To Ditto Sjjent when recfl Townsends Rent . . 
To 2Y2 Ounces 3 penny weight Gold at 6£ : 5s . 
To 242 Ounces Silver p the Reserve at 8s/ — . . 
Allowed mv Brentnall for 2 horses one to Salem 

One to Piscataqua 

Allowed mv Townsend to lay out on the House . 



1709 Contra 

Dec: 30 p Cash of tlie Townsends for that You paid the 

Sherrif 10 : — 

Januy: 29 p Ditto of Senter for Rent 15 : — 

30 p Ditto of mr Brentnall for Rent 55 : — 

P Ditto of the Townsends for Rent 50 : 

P Ditto of Capt Belcher for Rent' 2 : 15 





-8 


— 




1 


3 


—16 


11 


3 


96 


16 


— 


1 


-5 





15 


— 


— 


132 


15 


— 



132 : 15 



^ Joseph Hiller 

EECEirT FROii Elizabeth Bellixgham ® 

London Augt 31. 1709. 

Be it knowne unto all whome it may Concern that on this 31®* 
day of Aug* as abovesaid J do acknowledg to have recd of M'" 
Edward Watts my full proportion according to an agreement made 
between him & my selfe bearing date y® 25*'^ Aprill 1699 — viz* 
one T^ [ ] of such monys as should be raised by sales of lands [in] 
New England also my full proportion of all Eents and arrears 
of Rents dew unto Lady day last unto w^^ time all was adjusted 
& paid J do by these presents acknowledge to have had and 
received my full proportion of } also of xV of each percell of 
Eentes unto y^ 1^* of Aprill last past — 
Wittniss Witness my hand 

J Hall Elizabeth Bellingham: 

[Letter from Elizabeth Bellingham to Joseph Hiller ° 

oj. London February, 10, 1705/6 

These may Advise You that by M'" Watts I Recd your Account 
dated in Boston March 9*^ 1704/5. So far as Concerns Me I have 
& do Allow it & have Eec'd my dividend out of the Same by M^' 

' [Presumably Andrew Belcher rented the pasture at the South End of 
Boston which he purchased later. See Sutl. Deeds, L. 26, f. 100; L. 39, 
f. 73.] 

« Chamberlain MSS., i. 107. 

° SuflF. Early Court Files, X'o. 6949, Paper Xo. 5; an attested copy. See 
supra, pp. 542; 559, note 1. 



582 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVI 

Watts who is again Intended as I perceive for your Country so all 
farther Management is left to him with your Assistance wherein 
I Intreat you not to be wanting 

I Understand your Agent M'' Newton dos Scruple the Title 
altho We had all Joined in a Conveyance unto you.^" Its Judged 
here he was much more Nice than Wise ; I was & am Still ready 
to Joyn in any proper Conveyance as Sales may be made. 

So with Kind Kespects to your self I Eemain your Loving 
friend 

Elizabeth Bellingham 
S"" I Pray you Acquaint all the Tenants that I am Satisfied 
with what M** Watts dos concerning the Eec* of Eents and his 
Eec*^ for the same are as Sufficient as if Signed by me also. 

I do not intend to allow one penny towards the funeral Charges 
of my Grand Mother neither Law nor Equity will oblige me in that 
Case. 

Signed in presence of J Hall 
& W^ Collard his Servantt 
Superscribed. ' 

To Joseph Hiller In Boston 
In New England 
A true Copy left insteed of the Original 

Exam*^ per Elisha Cooke Cler 
A true Copy of that on file 

Exam*^ per Elisha Cooke Cler] 

Letter from Elizabeth Bellingham to Edward 
Watts, 1711 " 

W Edw Watts 

I read y"* lef to M"" Hall dated Jan y^ 7*^ 1711 & rec<i twenty 
Six pounds thirteen shilings & 4*^ from M'" Foy by your Order & 
Capt belchers : tis unacountable you should delay y® payment of 
this & the other Mony w'^'^ is due to me so long & could not have 
sent it by y^ same Opportunity, but send to know how J would 
have it sent whereas J writt to you to return it in Spannish pieces 
of Eight, pray put it off noe longer nor give mee nor y'' self any 
vnnecesary trouble but make it payable to my self Elizabeth Bel- 
lingham living att the Tobaco Eoll & Sug"" Loaff in little Moor 
Fields ; & make noe pretences to keep back any thing that is my 
due according to Our Agrement, soe you may expect to prosper 
the bet^ ' 

" 8upra, pp. 500; 579, note 2. 
" ChamberLain MSS., i. 113. 



Chap. XVI] APPENDIX 583 

J haye som very Considerable Persons in [Boston] that are my 
friends & have promisd me thiere assistance & know the Estate 
very [well] if yon give me Ocasion J shall make vse of them. My 
service to y^" self & M'"^ Watts is all att p^'sent from 

y well wisher 

Elizabeth Bellingham 
London July ye 10th 1711. 

J expect & desire a Just ace* of Eents & all things as you promisd 
[Addressed] ffor M'' Edward Watts Living in Boston Jn New 
England — ddd w^^ Care — 60 



)84 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVII 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE BELLINGHAM WILL IN TOWN MEETING 

BETWEEN the judgment of the Superior Court in 1708, 
adverse to the trustees vmder the Bellingham will, and 
the proceedings to be narrated, the three northerly precincts 
of Boston, — Winnisimmet, Rumney Marsh, and Pullen 
Point, — had been set off and incorporated as Chelsea. On 
its records, December 2, 1756, is this entry: ^ " Voted not to 
act at this meeting upon the Petition of Thomas Goldthwait ^ 
and others." This petition has not been found, nor does its 
purport appear until nearly three months later, when the fol- 
lowing entry is found : 

"February 28, 1757. At a Town's meeting legally assembled 
to see if they will choose a Coniittee to inquire into and prosecute 
the town's claim to the late GovV Richard Bcllinghanrs Estate at 
Winisimett as ^ Warrant, which being read the Town chose 
Thomas Goldthwait Es'i'' Moderator. 

" and Voted Tho? Goldthwait Esqr ]\Ies? N"ath'. Holmes, Tho? 
Fluckcr, James Pitts, David Jenkins, William Stoddard and 
Oxnabridg Thatcher Esq? be a Comittee ^ to prosecute any claim 

^ [ToA\Ti Records, City Hall, Chelsea. Hon. Samuel Watts, OA\Tier of the 
Ferry farm of Governor Bellingham, was the moderator of this meeting.] 

" Infra, pp. 602-609. 

^ [This was a committee of Boston men. Nathaniel Holmes, a merchant 
in Boston, was one of the seven original proprietors of Point Sliirley and, 
like Thomas Goldthwait, may have removed thither. James Pitts (H. C. 
1731), a proprietor of Point Shirley by purchase from Ezekiel Goldthwait 
(SufT. Deeds, L. 82, f. 103), was a merchant in Boston. Both he and 
Thomas Fluckcr wore overseers of the poor in that town in 17o7. They 
were brothers-in-law, and held jointly large landed interests in Chelsea, as 
for instance in the Keayne-OIiver farm. (SufT. Deeds, L. 83, f. 112; L. 84, 
f. 24; L. 87, f. 186.) David Jenkins owned a farm in Chelsea (supra, 
p. 238), but was always described as of Boston in deeds and elsewhere. In 
1724 when he was three years of age, his mother married Joshua Cheever of 
Boston, son of Rev. Thomas Cheever of Rumney Marsh. Oxenbridge 
Thatcher was a well-known resident of Boston and Milton, and had ap])ar- 
ontly no connection with Chelsea. He was descended from Rev. .Tolm Oxen- 
bridge, trustee under the will of Governor Bellingham, and Peter Thatcher, 



CiiAP. XVII] THE WILL IX TOWX MEETIXG 585 

the town may have in the lands at Winisimett late the Estate of 
the Hon? Gov? Eichard Bellingham EsqF by virtue of his Will — 
and Voted the Town pay the Charge thereof. Voted said Comf^ 
make report of their doings as soon as may be. 

" The hon? Saml Watts EsqV Daniel W^atts Eben"- Hough & Nathl 
Hasey entered their dissents to the above proceedings." * 

Samuel and Daniel Watts among the dissentients,^ were 
sons of Edward and Rebecca Watts. Both were men of great 
respectability, and the first was prominent in public affairs as 
a member of the Council and a judge. "^ Sanuiel and Daniel 
Watts doubtless believed, as was for their interest, that the 
governor's will was void, as had been declared by the General 
Court in 1676, and by the Superior Court in 1708. Thomas 
Goldthwait and many very respectable citizens of Boston 
thought otherwise, as will appear in the following extracts 
from the Chelsea Kecords : 

March 17, 1757.' "Voted MesVs Benjamin Brintnal and 
Samuel Pratt ^ be added to the Town's Committee heretofore 

who signed the address to the General Court in June, 1709. (f^upra, p. .574.) 
William Stoddard, also a resident of Boston, was a grandson of Anthony 
Stoddard, trustee under the Bellingham will, and a son of Simeon Stod- 
dard, who jftined Rev. James Allen in the effort to re-establish the will in 
1706. (^upra, pp. .538. 540.) ] 

* [This was the only business transacted. Once before, the preceding 
May, Thomas Goldthwait had served as moderator. Previously to that, with 
the exception of two town-meetings in 1748, one in 1749, one in 1752, and 
one in 1755, Hon. Samuel Watts had been moderator of every meeting of 
the to^^^l for eight years.] 

° [Ebenezer Hough was son-in-law of Samuel Watts.] 

« Supra, pp. 338-342, 353-35G. 

' [The annual to^^'n meeting, held March 14, was adjourned until March 
17, and for the same date a town-meeting was summoned by warrant to 
provide for the supply of the pulpit and the raising of men for the war, and 
to consider " if tlie Town will add any persons to their Connnittee of 
Inquiry & to prosecute the To^vn's claim to the late Governor Bellingham's 
Estate." Thomas Goldthwait was chosen moderator March 14, and Hon. 
Samuel Watts was not re-elected selectman and town treasurer. He had 
served in the former capacity sinCe 1740, except for five j-ears between 1744 
and 1749, and in the latter office since March, 1747. At the meeting in 
April Thomas Goldthwait was chosen moderator and was the first named on 

* [Residents of Chelsea and selectmen. They w^ere the nearest neigiibora 
of the Watts family. Brintnall living near the ferry on wliat is now the 
United States Hospital estate, Pratt on the farm north of Deacon Daniel 
Watts, in what is now Prattville.] 



58G HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVII 

chosen to inquire into, and prosecute the Town's claim to the late 
Govr Bellingham's Estate By his last will." 

May 16, 1757." " Voted to raise forty pounds to prosecute the 
towns claim to the late Gov? Bellingham's estate at Winisimett 

a committee to settle accounts with Hon. Samuel Watts, the former town 
treasurer. From bills, writs, etc., preserved in Chamberlain MSS., vol. iii., 
it would appear that Richard Watts became financially involved about the 
year 175G or 1757, and that bills payable then were not settled until the 
administrators of the estate of Richard, who died in 1771, had received 
his inheritance from Hon. Samuel Watts, who died in 1770. (See supra, 
p. 358.) This may have affected the standing of the family in the town. 
Also the town found its purchase of a parsonage financially burdensome, 
and, April 19, reversed its policy and voted to sell. See infra, the 
chapter on the church in Chelsea.] 

' [This was the annual town meeting for choosing a representative to 
the General Court. For the first time in seven years, the towTi voted to 
send one, and elected Thomas Goldthwait. This vote " was excepted 
against : Then voted to count the A^oters which being done it appeared 
there were thirty nine persons present, who voted; Then it was asserted 
by severall that some, Mr Goldthwait said Six persons, were gone to Mr 
Houghs; and the Constable Mas order'd to desire them to return, who said 
they wou'd not come." Mr. Hough was a son-in-law of Hon. Samuel Watts, 
and lived near the church, where the town meeting was held. Thomas 
Goldthwait was chosen moderator for the remaining business of the day. 
The vote given in the text was then passed. As was customary, the select- 
men served as moderators during the election. Nathaniel Oliver, Esq., and 
" sundry others, Inhabitants of the Town of Chelsea " presented a memorial 
to the House of Representatives, complaining that the choice of Thomas 
Goldthwait as representative was illegal because of " the arbitrary and 
unjustifiable Proceedings of their Select - Men," of whom Thomas Gold- 
thwait was one, at the time of the election. The House ordered a hearing. 
On the day appointed Nathaniel Oliver and " sundry of the Subscribers 
to the Memorial," appeared and requested a postponement, as the witnesses 
to the facts complained of refused to attend unless legally summoned. The 
request was granted, and summons Avere issued by the Clerk of the House 
to " Nath. Holmes, Nath. Hasey, John Sargent, Ebenezer Hough, and Nath. 
Lewis, of Chels6a, and Capt. David Jenkins of Boston " to attend the House 
as witnesses. On June 2, after the case had been " fully heard," the House 
voted that the election of Thomas Goldthwait was not legal, and that he 
did not have " a Right to a Seat in the House." A precept for a new elec- 
tion was issued, and on June 9 the town meeting was held. It decided, by 
a vote of 28 to 19, to send a representative, and chose Thomas Goldthwait 
by a majority of thirteen. After this he represented the town in the General 
Court so long as he remained a resident of Chelsea. Two years later, at the 
annual meeting for the election of town officers, March, 1759, Nathaniel 
Oliver, Jr., presented to the moderator, Thomas Goldthwait, a protest 
against the presence of a civil officer, who was intended, he thought, to over- 
awe them. The dissenters then were Samuel Floyd, Nathaniel Oliver, Sr., 
Richard Watts, Nathaniel Hasey, Benjamin Tuttle, Ebenezer Hough, and 
John Brintnall.] 



CiiAP. XVII] THE WILL IN TOWN MEETING 587 

and that the same be paid to the town's Comittee already chosen to 
prosecute the same to which Mr Nl Hasey entered his dissent." 

At the same meeting was submitted the following: 

" The Eeport of a Comtf^ chosen by the Town to enquire into 
and prosecute any Claim the s^ Town may have to the Estate late 
of Gov? Bellingham lying in WiUnisimm*. &c? 

" We the Subscribers being a Com^f^ chosen by y^ Town of Chel- 
sea to enquire into and prosecute any claim w'^^ the s*^ Town may 
have to y® Estate late of Govr Bellingham lying in Winnisimmit 
— We having examin<^ y« last Will of s^ Bellingham together wt^ 
y® Records and papers relative thereto & taken the Advice of three 
skilfull Lawyers upon them, are unanimously of Opinion, that y® 
s*? Town of Chelsea hath a good Title to s<^ Estate for y^ purposes 
mention<^ in s? Will notwithstanding what has been done to nullify 
ye Same — Boston May 12 — 1757 

Thomas Goidthwait W? Stoddard 
Tho? Flucker Benj'i Brentnall 

David Jenkin Saml Pratt 

James Pitts Nath! Holmes " 

The town records are silent for nearly three years. But 
during this time the committee, encouraged by the advice of 
" three skilfull Lawyers," whose names we do not learn, 
pushed matters vigorously and with success. They hunted up 
the heirs of James Allen, the surviving trustee under the 
will, in whom the fee vested, and in their names brought a 
suit in the Court of Common Pleas, where, as usual, they were 
successful. Thompson appealed to the Superior Court. The 
files contain nothing about this case, and the volumes of 
records in which the proceedings were entered were carried 
off at the commencement of the Revolutionary War, it is 
said.^° But the story is told in the Report which follows. 

March 10, 1760." " Voted to Record the Eeport of the Comm«e 
appointed to Examine and Prosecute the Towns Claim to Govr 
Bellinghams Estate." 

^* [The writ of attachment, found in the files of the Inferior Court of 
Common Pleas, in the basement of the Court House in Boston, is given 
infra, p. GIO. The records of this lower court are missing, but the record 
on the appeal is given, infra, p. G12.] 

" [This was the annual town meeting; Thomas Goidthwait was 
moderator.] 



588 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVII 

Report of the Towns Committee ^- 

" The Committee appointed by the Town of Chelsea to examine 
into and Prosecute the said Towns Claim to the Estate of the Late 
GovV Kichard Bcllingham, Deces?, lying in Chelsea Beg leave to 
make the following Eeport. 

" That in Consequence of the advice of three well approved Law- 
3Trs who were employed in this Action, the Comm*^*^ apply? to M? 
John Allen and M^"? Hannah Danforth, to Abiel Walley Esq? 
Guardian to James, W^ and Jer'^ and Martha Allen to Jon? Belcher 
EsqV who married M^'? Abigail Allen and to Mi' Jerem'^ Wheel- 
wright Grandson of Jerem^ Allen who were the Only heirs and De- 
sendants of the Eev*^ James Allen who was the surviving Execute 
and Feofee intrust to the aforesaid Richard Bellingham, and did 
obtain of s? Heirs by a writing under their hands and seals their 
Consent to have an Action brought in their Names for the Recov- 
ery of s^ Estate and upon such Recovery that it should Revert to 
the Town of Chelsea to be apply*^ to the Pious Purposes mentiond 
in s*? Bellingham's will. The Comm*^? then Commenc*^ an Action 
at the Infr Court of Common pleas held at Boston on the first 
Tuesday of Octob?" in the Year A D 1757 against Joshua and 
Abigail Euestis of Chelsea for withholding One Farm which was 
part of s? Estate the s? Joshua and Abigail Alleged that they were 
only Tenants to Robart Thompson of London Esq? and Desire 
that he may have Liberty to Defend this Action, and Time Allow? 
him for that End, The Tryall was Accordingly Pospon'd three 
Terms and then it was heard and verry fully and Largly argued 
and Determin'd in favour of the Town of Chelsea, The said 
Thompson by his Attorney, AndY Oliver, Esq?" then appealed to 
the next Superiour Court, But before the Action could be brought 
to a Tryall in s? Court, the aforementiond John Allen dyed and 
the Judges of s*^ Court determin'd that as One of the Plantifi^s 
in s? Action was dead the Action could not go on; This obliged 
the Comm*^^? to bring a new Action w^^^ was done as Expediously 
as possable but before it could be brought to a Tryall the afore- 
mentiond Abiel AYalley Esqr, who was a Plantifi' in s*^. Action 
died which again put a stop to the suit. The Comm*^? then Pre- 
paird to Renew the Action and intended it should be brought to 
the last Jnferiour Court, But just before the Court Jeremiah 
Allen, son to the above named John Allen and who was a Plan- 
tiff in the 2? Action dyed and as Sarah Danforth aforementiond is 
above ninety years old and some others of s"? Heirs are aged Per- 

" Chelsea To\\ti Records, i. 71. 



Chap. XVII] THE WILL IN TOWN MEETING 589 

sons, the Comnitfe Consulted their Lawyers upon Bringing the 
Action in some other way to obviate these impediments and after 
Deliberating this matter the Lawyers det.ermind to bring the writ 
in another form, But as the Consent of all M"^: Aliens heirs is 
Necessary to be first had and signed to a new Instrument the 
Comra^ee could not yet Act upon this new Plan and as the said 
heirs are Scatterd in Differ' parts it will require some time to Com- 
pleat it. The Commt^e beg leave further to Inform the Town that 
no Labour or Assiduity has been wanting in them to bring this 
Action to an Issue and th? it has been attended with Considerable 
Charge, no Expence has incurd to the Town to this day over and 
above the Forty Pounds which the Town at first Voted to carry it 
on, w?*^ is submitted. 

" FelP' 25!!^ 1760. Tho? Goldthwait, W^^ Stoddart, Jam? Pitts, 
David Jenkin, Xathl Holmes, Benj'i Brintnall, Saml Pratt, The? 
Fluker." ^'^ 

And so the case stood for six years with a judgment in favor 
of the town in the Court, of Common Pleas, but carried by 
appeal to the Superior Court. It failed to be prosecuted by 
reason of the mortality of the Allen family. The action was 
for the Eustis farm, which Eichard Wharton had sold to Major 
Thompson of London, in whose family it still remained. 
Though all the farms were equally affected by Governor Bel- 
lingham's will, it was doubtless deemed good policy to proceed 
first for that estate o^^mecl by the Englishman, and in pos- 

" [Nothing further is heard of this matter during the residence of 
Thomas Goldthwait in Chelsea. Apparently the antagonism between 
Colonel Goldthwait and Hon. Samuel Watts ceased about this time also. 
The town meeting which in May, 1761, elected Thomas Goldthwait the 
representative of Chelsea to the General Court, chose Hon. Samuel Watts 
moderator of its further business, a position which he had not held since 
the year 1757. At the next annual town-meeting Thomas Goldthwait was 
moderator and Samuel Watts, Jr., was chosen Town Clerk and a select- 
man, offices which he continued to hold by yearly election until 1700, when 
the dispute over Governor Bellingham's will was revived. Beginning with 
17G2, Thomas Goldthwait and Samuel Watts, Jr., served together continu- 
ously on the board of selectmen and on other town committees, as long as 
Goldthwait was a resident of the town; and in 1701 and 1703 Hon. Samuel 
Watts was chosen moderator of the town meeting after the election of 
Thomas Goldthwait as a delegate to the General Court. In June, 1700, 
Goldthwait was approved by the Council, of which Hon. Samuel Watts 
was a member, to pay the army " at the Westward " and thenceforth, until 
his removal to Fort Pownall in Maine, he was busily employed in army 
affairs.] 



590 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVI I 

session of his tenants, rather than for the other farms, held 
bj the Watts family, honored citizens of Chelsea. 

Xothing more is heard of this business until 17 6C, when 
the to\\Ti, dissatisfied with tlie old committee, or some portion 

of it, passed the following votes : 

May 22," " Voted to accept the Report of the Committee that 
was Chosen in the year 1757 to prosecute GovV Bellingham's will; 
to Dismiss the former Committee and Choose a new one; to have 
five persons for the said Committee viz* Thomas Flucker, Esq"", 
James Pitts, Esq"", Lieu* Thomas Pratt, Samuel Pratt & Thomas 
Hill/' ^^ 

For four years the matter remained in the hands of this new 
committee without anything being done, as appears from the 
following votes: 

May 28, 1770,i« "Voted to Eeceive a Verbal Eeport of the 
former Committee that was Chosen the Twenty Second Day of 

" [This was the annual meeting for the choice of a Representative. In 
17G4 Samuel Floyd had been chosen in the place of Thomas Goldthwait, 
no longer a resident of Chelsea. In 1765 the town voted, 24 to 17, not to 
send a representative. This year it voted 27 to 12 to send; then Lieutenant 
Thomas Pratt was chosen its representative and moderator of its further 
business. The vote in the text followed. The preceding March, Thomas 
Pratt had been moderator of the annual meeting for the choice of to\\Ti 
officers, when John Sale was chosen town clerk in the place of Samuel 
Watts, Jr., who was also not elected a selectman. He had held both offices 
since 1762; he was again elected a selectman in 17G7, and town clerk in 
1769. In May, 1768, he was chosen with Thomas and Samuel Pratt to 
petition the General Court for relief from overburdensome taxation.] 

" [Thomas Flucker, James Pitts, and Samuel Pratt had served on the 
earlier committee. (Supra, p. 584, note 3.) Thomas Hill had recently pur- 
chased part of the Tuttle farm, he lived apparently in Maiden. Thomas 
Flucker was a member of the Governor's Council, 1761 to 1768; James 
Pitts, 1766 to 1775. Andrew Oliver, Secretary of the Province, was the 
agent of Thompson for the Eustis farm. Samuel Watts, then owner of two 
of the Bellingham farms, was a judge in the County Court, and James Rus- 
sell, part owner of the fourth, was an influential member of the Covmcil.] 

^^ [This was the annual meeting for the choice of a Representative; 
none had been sent to the General Court since 1766. The town voted "by 
a great IMajority " not to send, and chose Lieutenant Thomas Pratt, Captain 
Jonathan Green, and Samuel Floyd to wait upon the General Court " to get 
some reloaf from our Taxes by reason that the Valuation is likely to Come 
on this present Year." Captain Green was one of the administrators of the 
estate of Hon. Samuel Watts, who died the preceding March. Lieutenant 
Thomas Pratt was then chosen moderator for the remaining business of 
the day.] 



CnAP. XVII] THE WILL IN TOWN MEETING 591 

May 1766: Relative to Governor Bellinghams Will And Said 
Committee Reported that they Did not Prosecute the affair; to 
Choose a New Committee to prosecute Governor Bcllingliams Will • 
to Choose five persons to prosecute the Same; as Committee men 
The Hono'^if James Pitts Esq!' Mr John Baker Lieu* Samuel Pratt 
Mr John Tueksbury mr James Floyd ; to raise money to prosecute 
the affair of Governor Bellinghams Will ; to raise the Sum of one 
hundred and Thirty three pounds Six Shillings and Eight pence 
Lawfull money to prosecute the affair of Governor Bellin"-hams 
Will. 

[" The Town met according to their Adjournment on Monday 
the Second Day of July, 1770 ... to finish the Business of their 
May meeting W^arrant. . . . Voted to add one person more to y? 
Committee Respecting the Affair of Governor Bellinghams Will."^ 

" Voted] The Hono'^'.e James Bowdoin Esqr ^' be one of the Com- 
mittee to Enquire into the affair of Governor Bellinghams will." 

Dec. 13, 1770 ^^ " Voted not to assess the whole Sum of Money 
to prosecute Governor Bellinghams W^ill this present year viz: 
£133:6:8 that was Voted at May meeting Last past; voted to 
assess the one half of the above mention'd Sum Viz: £66:13:4 
for the use and purpose above Said this present year." 

Hon. Samuel Watts died March 5, 1770, but the town did 

not relax its efforts, as appears above. His eldest son, Samuel, 

and Jonathan Green administered on his estate. In their 

accounts are the following: 

Lawfull money 
To 2 Days in Searching for & takeing out 30 papers Relative 
to Governer Bellinghams will & the watts's title to the 
winnesimmet Farms " f . 12 . . 

" [James Bowdoin, later Governor of the State of Massachusetts, o\\Tied 
land at Pullen Point. {,Suprn, pp. 184, 266.) He was a member of the 
Governor's Council 1757 to 17(39, negatived by Governor Bernard in 1769, 
elected by Boston to the House of Representatives, again chosen for the 
Council in May, 1770, and allowed by the Lieutenant-Governor, Thomas 
Hutchinson, to take his seat. The wife of Hon. James Pitts was a sister 
of James Bowdoin and of Thomas Flucker's first wife. In November, 1770, 
Flucker succeeded Oliver as Secretary of the Province. Tliomas Hutchinson 
succeeded Oliver as Thompson's agent for the Eustis farm.l 

" [This was the first town-meeting since July 2. Lieutenant Tliomas 
Pratt was moderator.] 

" Chamberlain MSS., ii. 77. An item in the account of Jonathan Green 
between March 27, 1770, and July 19, 1771. Another item in this account 
is, — " to 5 Days in Carry the Books & papers from Madam Watts's to my 
house & in Enquiring after a Scribe to post sd Book and sort ye papers & 
in agreeing with Capt Giles Harris to do sd work & in carrying s<} Books & 



592 HISTORY OF CHELSEA ICiiap. XVn 

To Cash pd To Attorneys, for Advice in ye Affair of Govr 
Bellingham's Will, at the desire of the Heirs of said 
Estate -" £3:10 — 

Four years later are the following votes : 

March 14, 1774 -^ "Voted so far to reconsider the Vote of the 
Town that was for raising and assessing Sixty Six poimds thirteen 
Shillings and four pence Lawful money that was to prosecute the 
Affair of Governor Bellingham's "Will So much of it as is not as 
yet Expended Should be Diverted to the Town's use; that the 
money that is not Expended which has already been assessed In 
prosecuting the affair of Governor Bellinghams will Should go 
to pa}' of[f] the Towns Debt; not to forgive any one person that 
part of their Bates that was raised and assessed upon them in the 
year 1770 — Iielative to prosecuting the affair of Governor Bel- 
linghams Will in Samuel Watts's List -^ as a Collector." 

The suit in behalf of the to\vn, by the heirs of James Allen 
vs. Joshua and Abigail Eustis, tenants of the Eiistis farm, 
entered at the October term, 1757, of the Court of Common 

papers to him at Boston & in Inquiring after the meening of Sundry 
Charges & papers & Bringing them Back £ 1 . 10 . . " 

" Chelsea May ye 2d 1770 
Received of mi's Sarah Watts nine bound account Book and three other 
account Books and a Large number of papers (as she saith) being all the 
papers and account books belonging to the Estate of the Honble Samll 
Watts Esqr Late of Chelsea deceased that have come to her hands and 
knoledge since the Death of sd Deceased and also some other Books 

Tone of ye admin 
A Coppy J G . J istrators on 

I said Estate " Chamberlain MSS., ii. 53. 

Identical papers, with many others belonging to the town, which have 
been sought far and wide, were recently discovered in the house in which 
Captain Green lived after his removal from Chelsea soon after the Revolu- 
tionarj' War. JNIany of them will be found in this volume. But the account 
books are not yet found. 

™ Item from the account of Samuel Watts, [April 10, 1772, to] Feb. 4, 
1773. SufT. Prob. Rec, L. 72, f. 349. 

" [The moderator of this meeting was Samuel Sprague, tenant on the 
Cary farm of the Bellingham estates. Apparently a rough draft of the 
warrant for this meeting has been preserved in Chamberlain MSS., v. 81. 
It reads, — " no processes in the Law have since that time [1770] been had 
in the affair of sd will."] 

" [Samuel Watts, grandson of Edward and Rebecca Watts, had been 
chosen a collector of taxes at the annual meeting in March, 1770. Obviously 
it did not suit his convenience to press the payment of a rate which would 
be used to destroy the title to his lands.] 



Chap. XVII] THE WILL IN TOWN MEETING 593 

Pleas at Boston, resulted in a verdict for tlie town, as has been 
said ; but Thompson, the real defendant, appealed, and the 
prosecution of the case was delayed and finally defeated, it 
seems, by the death successively of some of the parties to 
prosecute it. This left the plaintiffs' judgment of 1758 inop- 
erative by the appeal; but they had some sort of possession, 
as appears from the following depositions: 

Deposition of Abigail and Williain Eusiis-^ 

"^Ye Abigail Eustis widow, & William Eustis yeoman both of 
Charlton in the County of Worcester & Common Wealth of Massa- 
chusetts of Lawful age testify & say that some time in the year of 
our Lord seventeen Hundred & Fifty Eight, your deponants then 
Living in Chelsea in the County of Suffolk, on the Farm, then 
known by the name of the Eustis Farm, & at that time your 
deponants & the other Occupants on s^ Farm, went out of the 
dwelling Hous & delivered possession of s*? House & Farm, To 
the Heirs of the Rev? James Allen late of Boston Deceased by their 
Guardians & the s? Heirs Enterd & took Possession of the same 
at that time, — & your Deponants further say that in the year of 
our Lord seventeen Hundred & seventy five on the jSFineteenth day 
of April Apprehending their Lives & property to be in danger on 
account of Hostilities which then Coimnensed left the whole of 
s"? Premises without any Possesser or Occupant on the same. 

Abagail Eustis 
William Eustis" 
Appended is the usual certificate of the magistrate. 

Another Deposition of the Same Parties 

"We Abigail Eustis & William Eustis both of Cliarlton in tlie 
County of Worcester & Common Wealth of Massachusetts of Law- 
ful age Testefy and say that your deponants liv'd on the Farm 
in Chelsea commonly called the Eustis Farm from the year 1730 
the s<^ Abigail, & the s*^ William From the year 1745 To the year 
1775, & on the 19*'^ day of April in s? last mentioned year your 
deponants Apprehending their Lives & property to be in danger 
on account of Hostilities wdiich then coramenscd between P)riton 
& the then Province of Massachusetts Bay, Now Common W'callli 
of Massachusetts, left the whole of s*? Farm & the Buildings with- 
out any Occupant on the same, & your Deponants further say that 

=» Chamberlain MSS., i. G9, 71. 
VOL. I. — 38 



594 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XYll 

during the whole time of their living on s*? Farm they paid Rent 
To Mist^ Gushing Oliver & Hutchinson wlioo was then Eeputed 
to be Attorneys or agents to the Thompsons, & your Deponants 
further say that they never new of any Eents being paid to any 
other person or persons to the best of their knowledge, & further 
your Deponants Saith not 

Abagail Eustes 
"William Eustis" 

From the foregoing depositions taken in 1785, the first at 
the request of Phillips Payson, and the second at the request 
of Thompson, to be used in a suit hereafter given,^^ it appears 
that after the judgment of 1757 [1758], from which Thomp- 
son appealed, the heirs of Allen, in behalf of the towm, took 
some sort of possession; but the Eustis family, Thompson's 
tenants, still occupied the estate and paid rent to his agents. 
So the town took nothing but a barren possession under their 
judgment ; for while the case stood appealed, no execution 
could issue to put Allen's heirs into such legal possession as 
would sustain action for rent against the Eustis family. 
Therefore they paid rent to Thompson as before. 

The Eustis family seem to have been loyalists,^^ and in 
fear of their lives after the 19th of April, 1775 ; for on that 
day, if their account is taken literally, they left the farm and 
went to Charlton. Even then the to^vn did not enter upon the 
estate at once, but it remained vacant for some time. 

The Town in Possession 

March 11, 1776.2« "Voted that the Farm that mr TTilliam 
Eustis Lately Lived on In Chelsea be left to the Care of tlic Select- 
men with Eespect to the Last years Improvement of the above 
Said Farm." 

March 25, 1776 -' "Voted to Chuse a Commitee of five parsons — 
A''iz. . . . Cap* Sam^^ Sprague Cap* Jon*^ Green Joseph Green 
Jon^*^ "Williams & Sam'l Floyd jn'" the above Commitee is to Let 

-* [Chap, xviii. They bear the endorsement: "July Term 17S5, opened 
& filed. Atts Ezek : Price Cler." The depositions were taken at Charlton 
before Jacob Davis, J. P., the first on July 14, the second on July 25.] 

-^ [Supra, p. 307.] 

^ [This was the annual town meeting.] 

^ [Between this and the preceding meeting the to^\"n and harbor of 
Boston had been evacuated by the British. Thompson, the owner of the 
farm, was an Englishman, and his agent an emigrant Loyalist.] 



Chap. XVII] THE WILL IN TOWN MEETING 595 

out tlie farme Known by the Kame of Enstis farm for one j^ear 
then Voted to Jndeninify the commitee in Leting the above s*^ 
farm."' 

This hist vote and others which follow indicate a doubt of 
the town as to the validity of the to^^^l's possession. 

March 10, 1777. 

" liy Voted and Chose Cap* Samuel Sprague, Capt Samuel Sar- 
geant, & Capt Jonathan Green, A Committee to Take possession of 
a Certain Farm in Chelsea known by the Name of Eustis's Farm In 
behalf of the Inhabitants of Said Town of Chelsea by Virtue of 
Governor Eichard Bellinghams Last Will and Testament. And 
also by Virtue of a Judgment of Court [that of 175S] in favour 
of Said Town whereby Said farm was Eecovered.-® 
2^y Voted to Impower Said Committee In behalf of the Town of 
Chelsea to let out Said Farm, for one year next after the present 
Lease thereof is out, and that the Money Said Farm is Let for, to 
be paid into Said Town's Treasury, to be used by the Town for 
or towards the Support of an Orthodox Gospel Minister In Said 
Town." -» 

May 26, 1777. " Voted to adjourn the affair of Messu'"? Joseph 
Oliver and Ezra Brintnall Relative to the Farm they hired of the 
Town,"" that their Accounts may be adjusted at the next Town 
meeting. . . . This Town meeting was adjourn'd over to the 
next Town meeting to Consider of the affair of Joseph Oliver and 
Ezra Brintnall Respecting their accounts of Repairing the build- 
ings and the fences on the Farm they hired of the Town — The 

^ Chelsea April ye 10th 1777 

Received of Jonathan Green town treasurer as a witness to tlie takeing 
possession of Eustises farm one shilling L. m. 

Ebenezer Sargeant ( Chamberlain MSS., vi. 45 ) . 
"" " Chelsea December the 23fl 1777 — 

Those may Certify that according to the Best Computation we can 
make and the Best accounts we have it appears to us that Robert Temple 
Esqr And his Father have paid in Chelsea for the Farm he hired in Chelsea 
of mi" Yeomans and his heirs Eleven pounds ten Shillings Lawful money 
as Extraordinary Charges by Taxes towards paying for Chelsea parsonage, 
Buildings, and Lands, and towards the Cost of Said Towns Law Suits 
Exclusive of the Ministers Salary 

Sanuiel Sargeant 
Samuel Watts 
Jonatlian Green 
Daniel Pratt 



Assessors and 
Selectmen of Chelsea. 



[Infra, p. 597.] 



(Chamberlain MSS., vi. 55.) 



59 G HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVII 

Town A^oted to refer said article over to the next Town meeting. 
At a Town meeting ... in Chelsea on Thursday y^ S\^ Day of 
January 1778. . . . the moderator of the former meeting Viz : 
Capt Samuel Sargeant appeared at this Town meeting and Called 
for a Vote to see if the Town would Dismiss the Article in the 
former Warrant Eelative to Joseph Oliver and Ezra Brintnalls 
accounts that was Eeferred over to this present Town meeting. 
And the Town Voted to Dismiss Said article as above Said. And 
then the Town Voted to adjourn the aforesaid Town meeting 
Without Day, accordingly the ]\Ioderator adjourn'd Said meeting 
Sine Die The Warrant for this Town meeting being read And 
rcturn'd The Town proceeded to the Choice of a Moderator, accord- 
ingly The Town Voted and Chose Cap* Jonathan Green Moderator 
of this present meeting. — for to finish the Business of this 
Warrant — 

the accounts of Joseph Oliver & Ezra Brintnall being read Eela- 
tive to their Eepairing the buildings and fences on the Farm they 
hired of the Town the Last year . and also for poles and posts they 
Brought on said Farm and also for Cash they paid Capt Sprague 
for raiseing men to go in the War, as by their account may appear 
the Vote was Called to See if the Town would allow the whole of 
the above said accounts and Voted not to allow the whole of said 
Joseph Olivers and Ezra Brintnalls accounts. — 

Voted to allow to Jacob Shute tlio Sum of £3-10-7 

Voted to allow for the boarding of Jacob Shute 22 Days . . 1-12-0 

16s/3d > 
Voted to allow mr Edes for mending the Windows twice V 1-12-0 

15s/l)d ) 
Voted to allow for makeing the hogsty, Celler Stairs & 

Laying a Linter Hour 1-4-0 

Voted not to allow the Quarter of Dollar for nails ls/6d . 0-0-0 

Voted to allow the Cash paid to Capt Sprague for raiseing 

men to go in the war 1-19-5-2 

Voted to allow to Ezra Brintnall for raising men for to go 

In ye War the Sum of 10-0-0 

Voted to allow Ezra Brintnall for two hundred pols the 

Sum of 4-10-0 

Voted to allow for forty Seven posts — the Sum of ... . 2-7-0 

Voted to allow for the Boating and Carting Said pols & posts 1 - 0-0 

as may be made to appear bv Olivers and) „ rr . y c^Z 77i ^ 

-,-, . ^•' ,, . r " •] 5 Sum Total . . £28-10-0 

Bnntnalls accounts as aiore said 

Voted to choose a Committee to let the Farm out now under the 
Improvement of Joseph Oliver & Ezra Brintnall this present year; 
and Chose as a Committee for the above Said purpose Cap^ Jonathan 



Chap. XVII] THE WILL IX TOWX MEETIXG 597 

Green Cap* Samuel Sprague Cap* Samuel Sargcant (in behalf 
of the town and that the town will Indemnify the Comtt) " •'i • also 
'■ to let the farm out for one year only from the first Day April 
next Ensuing. — Voted that the Farm be let out at publick Ven- 
due ='- to the highest Bider proper notice being given by A^otifi- 
eations being posted up in three or four of the adjacent Town's " • 
and further " that the Committee that was Chosen by the Town 
to let out the Farm known by the Name of Eustis's Farm be a 
Committee to get a Copy of the Judgment of Court whereby a 
Certain farm known by the name of Eustis's Farm was recovered 
now under the Improvement of messu^'? Joseph Oliver and Ezra 
Brintnall. And also Voted that the Town would be at the Cost 
of gctmg the Copy as afore Said. The Committee that was Chosen 
J or the above Said purpose are as follows Viz: Cap* Samuel 
Sprague Capt Jonathan Green and Cap* Samuel Sargeant." 

Xo document in this case have I searched for more assidu- 
ously than the above-mentioned judgment, but in vain,^^ though 
I cannot sec how it would have been of the least value after- 
Thompson's appeal. 

May 22, 1778. "Voted to appropriate the Sum of Eighty 
pounds out of the Rent of the Farm Mess^rs Joseph Oliver "and 
Ezra Brintnall [who appear to have succeeded Eustis as tenants] 
lives on to the Reverend mV Phillips Pavson towards his- Salary 
which will be Due the Twenty Sixth day of October 1779: the 
above Said Sum is in full for the afore Said Term and the above 
Said Sum to be paid out of the Town's Treasury"; but "not to 
appropriate y? Eemaining part of the Pent money to any use at 
this present town meeting. . . ." 

The town made a great mistake in using the rents and ])rofits 
of this farm under the suspended judgment, as it was obliged 

I2 l^^^ clause in parentheses was interlined in the original.] 
^^^ " To Capt Jonathan Green The Town's Treasurer or his 
Successor In Said Onice 
Sr please to pay to Samuel Watts Tlie Sum of Two pounds tliree Sliillings 
It being for Liquor found at the Venducing of ^•e Farm known by the Xaine 
of Eustis's Farm 

f^" 7 'V ^ ~ ^ ~ By order of tlie Select-men 

Dated at Chelsea the Samuel Watts Town Clerk 

10:th Day of February 1778 " — 
Endorsed on back: " Received the contents of the witliin order. Samuel 

^^t"*"" (Chamberlain MSS., vi. 60.) 

'" [Infra, pp. 610-G13.] 



598 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVII 

to repay thee whole to Thompson.^'* A vote of January 18, 
1779, settles the fact that Joseph Oliver and Ezra Brintnall 
were tenants of the Eustis farm. 

Jan. 29, 1779. "Voted to give to the Eeverend mr Phillips 
Payson the use Benefit and Improvement of the Farm known by 
the Name of Eustis's Farm for the Term of one Year from and 
next after the first Day of April in the year 1779 to the first day 
of April. 1780 : And then Said Farm to be resigned up to the 
Town or a Committee Chosen by the Town to receiye the Same — 
And the Said Farm or those that Occupy Said Farm to be Subject 
to Taxes Equal with other farms in Chelsea according to the 
A'alue thereof And that the Eeverend m}' Phillips Payson be at 
no Cost or Charge in geting possession of Said Farm and also 
that the Eeverend ml' Phillips Payson pay no Eent for the farm 
for Said Term of time And also that the Eeverend ml" Phillips 
Payson Deliver the Said farm with the Buihlings and fences 
thereon , In as good order and repair as he receiv'd it in (Extraor- 
dinary Casualties Excepted) — "With as much Dung on the farm 
as he receives. Voted to Choose a Committee to take possession 
of Said farm from the present tenants in behalf of Chelsea and 
Likewise that Said Committee put the Eeverend mV Phillips 
Payson into possession of Said Farm on the begining of next 
April : and Likewise that Said Committee Eeceive possession of 
Said farm from the Eeverend m? Phillips Payson at the years 
End. Which will be on the first Day of April." 1780. In behalf 
of the Town of Chelsea " ; also " to Choose a Committee of Three 
persons in order to put the Eeverend mV Phillips Payson into 
Possession of the above and beforemention'd Farm : the Com- 
inittee men for the above Said purpose " to be " Cap* Samuel 
Sprague Cap* Samuel Sargeant and Cap* Jonathan Green. 
Voted to Jndemnify said Committee from all Cost and Damage 
by said trust in said afl'air " 

Having taken the Eustis farm, the town thought it best to 
seize another of the ]>ellingham estates, though without the 
sanction of legal proceedings, so far as is kno^^^l. 

'* [The town held the farm from 1775 until 1787, twelve years; it settled 
with the attorney of Robert Thompson for ninety pounds in 1788, and paid 
£12 as costs of court. {Infra, p. 030.) For a little over three years, 
November 20, 1780, to April 1, 1784, Rev. Phillips Payson accepted the farm 
in lieu of an annual salary of £80 as minister of the town. Possession by 
the town during the war was, under the circumstances, natural, and for all 
parties advantageous. The farm buildings were repaired (supra, p. 590), 
and did not suffer from the populace, as did many estates of Loyalists and 
Eu'dislimen.] 



CiiAP. XVII] THE WILL IN TOWN MEETING 599 

April 12, 1779 " Voted to Chuse a committee of five parsons to 
take persesion of a farm in Chelsea Known by the Name of Deacon 
Daniel Wattses farm" (the Carter farm), and "as a Committee 
Capt Sam!' Sprague Cap^ Saml' Sargeant m^" Benj^ Henderson 
m^" Daniel Pratt m^" Joseph Green then Voted to make addition of 
two more. Voted Lieu* Jont*^ Williams & Lieu*^ James Stowers 
all the above ]SJ"amed parsons are Chosen as a committee to take 
Porsesion of a farm known by the Name of Deacon Daniel Wattses 
farm. Then Voted to rase a Sum of money to Defray the Charge 
that should arise in taking porsesion of the aboue s*^ farm and 
keeping the same; to Pais a sum of four Hundred pounds to 
Defray the Charge in taking & keeping possion of the aboue 
s*? farm"; also "to Defend an[d] Endemnify the above s^ Com- 
mittee in taking and in keeping posesion of the above s*^ farm then 
Voted to Defend those parsons that keep possesion of the above 
said farm." 

I find no evidence of an actual taking agreeably to the fore- 
going votes.^° 

March 13, 1780 " Voted to Indemnify and save harmless the 
Rev^ Phillips Payson from all Damiges on account of his Im- 
proueing the farm Call*^ Eusteses farm the Last year " ; also " to 
Chuse a Committee to Lett out the farm call*^ Eustesis farm for 
one year " ; and " as a Committee Cap* Jonathan Green Cap* 
Sam'' Sargeant Cap* Sam" Sprague Then the town Voted to 
Give to the Eev*^ m** Payson the Improuement of the Buildings 
and farm in Chelsea that is Called Eusteses farm for one year 
Next after the first Day of april 1780 to the first Day of april 
1781 towards his Support and Likewise Voted to Indemnify and 
Save harmless the Rev? m'' Payson from all Damiges that may 
arise on a Count of his Improueing the above Said farm and Buld- 
ings this present year and that the Rev? m^ Phillips Payson 
Deliver the said farm with the Buildings and fences thereon in 
as good order and repair as he received it in Extraordinary 
Casualties Excepted with as much Dung on the farm as he receives 
Voted to Jndemnify s*^ Committee." 

November 13, 1780, the Selectmen ordered the Town Treasurer 
to pay " to the Rev? m'" Phillips Payson the Sum of Eighty pounds 
of Lawfull money which is in full for his Sallary from the 26^^ 
day of octv 1779 to the 26*^ of oct? 1780 with what he has hereto- 
fore had by the profitts of a farm called Eustices farm." ^^ 

^' [See infra, p. 614. Danforth vs. Sargent et al. Benjamin Henderson 
was moderator; this was the only business transacted.] 
=" Chamberlain MSS., vii. 27. 



600 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVII 

But the later votes indicate a change by which, with certain 
new features, the use of the farm should be a substitute for his 
salary. 

November 20, 1780. " Voted that the town of Chelsea Do give 
to the Eev*^ mr Philip Payson the Improvement of the farm in 
Chelsea that is known by the name of Eusteses farm for the term 
of three years if he can and Does peaceably Injoy the Same So 
Long in the Lieu of the Eighty Pounds that the town A^oted to 
give the Said Eev<^ m^' Payson as a annual Sallary and Said farm 
to be free from all Publick Eates and taxes Dureing said tarmo 
prouided that the Eev<^ m"" Payson for and in Consideration of The 
Improvement of Said farm Does give the town of Chelsea a full 
Discharge annually So Long as he Does Improve Said farm for 
his annual Sallary of Eighty Pounds of Lawfull money that the 
town Voted to him and also Voted that the town will Indemnify 
and vSave the Eev*^ m^' Payson harmliss 'from all Damages for his 
Improveing Said farm Dureing Said term Voted nevertheless' it 
is understood & agreed by and with Said Payson and the town 
that at the Expiration of the above term of three years or when 
Ever he shall be put out of Possession of Said farm then the old 
Contract of Eighty Pounds Shall take place and hold good. Voted 
and it is further agreed upon by the town and the Eevd m'" Payson 
that at any time within Said farm of three years if the town Should 
think proper to give up their Claim to Said farm then in that Case 
the Said Payson Shall resine up S*^ farm and Said Contract of 
Eighty Pounds Shall at that time take Place again Voted further 
the town Does prosed in the above Said affare by Vartue of 
Gouener Eichard Belinghams Will and by Vartue of a Judgment 
of Court." ^" 

^ The following bill (Chamberlain MSS., vii. 49) is for work done on 
the Eustis estate, in possession of Rev. Phillips Payson under the votes 
given above. 

" Chelsea. March ye 1 7th 178 1 

The town of Chelsea to Caleb Pratt Dr to a Difecult Joab Dun on tlie 
House of Eustess So Colled to the Hole a mount with Stufif in Cluden 
£0 : G : 8 Erors Exepted Caleb Pratt 

Chelsea, Febery 2th 1782 
tlie town of Chelsea to Caleb Pratt Dr to makin a well Curb for Wenesemet 
Farm £0 : 6 : Caleb Pratt 

Chelsea feby: IS: 1782 

Capt Jonathan Green Toa\tis Tresuror. Sir please to pay to Caleb Pratt 
out of Chelsea tresurey twelve Shillings and Eight pence Lawfull money 
it being the whole amount of the within a count 
fO: 12: 8 By order of the Selectmen Samll Sprague Town Clerk 

Oct ye 29th 1783 Reed the Contents Caleb Pratt. 



Chap. XVII] THE WILL IN TOWN MEETING 601 

The next vote indicates that Thompson was making trouble. 

July 22, 1782. " Voted that the town will defend their Claim 
to the farm Called Eustis' farm, by virtue of the Late Gov'' Bel- 
li nghams will, & the Judgment of Court, (which farm the town 
of Chelsea have had some years in quiet possession) against all 
Suits & actions that may be brought A^oted to Choose a Committee 
of five persons in Conjunction with Eev*^ Phillips Payson to defend 
S*' farm; at their own Expence, with S*^ Payson, & in Case they 
Succeed, S*^ Payson to have the profit of S*^ farm during his min- 
istry in Chelsea, Exclusive of his Stated Salary, S*^ Committe 
upon bearing a due proportion of the Charge in S*^ Defence, shall 
be exempted from their proportion of the eighty Pounds Salary, 
in Case they Succeed in defending S*^ farm; & the Sum their 
proportion of the eighty Pounds Salary amounts to, shall be 
deducted from S*^ eighty Pounds. Voted Cap* Jonathan Green, 
Cap* Sam^ Sprague," Joshua Cheever Esq^, Cap* James Stower, 
Cap* Sam* Clark for the above S*^ Committe Voted to omit the 
rest of the articles in the warrant respecting S*^ farm." 

May 11, 1784. " Voted to raise Eighty Pounds for B.ex^ M'' 
Paysons Salary this present year begining the first Day of april 
1784 Exclusive of the farm he improved at the ferry he giving the 
Town a Discharge for all Demands he has against the town to the 
first day of Said april, and he gave the town a Discharge the same 
Day." 

Chelsea May 14. 1781 
To the Selectmen of the Town of Chelsea 

Gentn 

I hereby inform you that on the twenty seventh of Apl last I brought 
into this Town the Widow Rebeckah Payne with her Children, and have 
put them into the house on the Eustiss farm, I brought them from the 
Town of Abington in this Commonwealth, and their Names and ages are 
as follow viz 

Widow Rebeckah Payne aged about 40 Years 
Her daugliter Rebeckah Payne aged about 20 years 
also her Daughter Bethany Payne aged about 18 years 
and her Daughter Hannah Payne aged about IG years 
lier son Ebenezer Pajmc aged about 14 years 
and her Daughter Sarah Payne aged about 8 years 
also her daughter Mary Payne aged about 4 j^ears 

This information is in compliance with a former Law of this CoiTion- 
wealth, from 

Your humble Servt 
To the Gentn Selectmen of the Phillips Payson 

Town of Chelsea 

(Chamberlain MSS., vii. 59.) 



602 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVII 



APPENDIX 11 

Col. Thomas Goldthwait, as he wrote his name, merchant, 
selectman, commissioner to adjust the affairs of the Land Bank, 
representative to the General Court, truck-master, judge, loyalist 
and refugee, was doubtless well known in his day, for he was a 
man of ability and unbounded enterprise ; but his name is hardly 
a tradition at Point Shirley, where he resided for some years, and 
became a man of influence in the affairs of Chelsea. 

Thomas Goldthwait was the son of Capt. John Goldthwait by 
his second wife, Jane (Tawley) Halsey. His father lived at the 
North End of Boston, attended the church of Increase and Cotton 
Mather, and in 171-i was one of the founders of the New North 
Church. Plis grandmother, wife of Samuel Goldthwait of Salem, 
was a daughter of Ezekiel Cheever, the schoolmaster, and a sister 
of Rev. Thomas Cheever of Rumney Marsh. His half brother 
Ezekiel was for twenty years (1741-1761) Town Clerk of Boston, 
and for over thirty years (1740-1776) Registrar of Deeds for 
Suffolk County; also Clerk of the Inferior Court of Common 
Pleas. ]\Iajor Benjamin and Captain Joseph Goldthwait, half- 
brothers also, served in the expeditions to Louisburg, Cape Breton, 
or Crown Point. 

Thomas Goldthwait was bom in Boston January 15, 1717/18. 
August 26, 1742, he married Esther Sargent, daughter of Colonel 
Epes Sargent of Gloucester.^ Their children, recorded at Boston, 
were : 

1. Thomas, born April 27, 1743; died March 25, 1749. 

2. Catharine, born Jan. 5, 1744/5. Apparently she was adopted 
about 1758 by Henry Barnes, the merchant in Marlborough who 

' [After Judge Chamberlain gathered his account of Colonel Goldthwait 
and tlie appearance of the Goldthwait Genealog}^', he added some items 
which had escaped his notice, and intended to make a rearrangement and 
to incorporate some new matter, but finding himself unable to do so, left 
this and some other matters to his editor. Tliis intention has been carried 
out, and a few facts added as to life at Point Shirley and Colonel Gold- 
thwait's political career during the years in which he represented the town 
in the General Court. For a fuller account of his life in England, and his 
ancestors and descendants, see the Goldthwait Genealogy.] 

^ The intention was filed in Boston July 7, 1742. The late Lucius 
INIanlius Sargent of Boston belonged to this family, also Epes Sargent, 
editor of the Boston Evening Transcript, and Epes Sargent Dixwell, Head 
Master of tlie Public Latin School of Boston. 





^i^^m^i^^n/tf^ 



CiiAr. XVII] APPENDIX 1 603 

contributed to the rebuilding of King's Chapel in IT-lT, and who 
concealed from the patriotic party, intent on their capture, Captain 
Brown and Ensign D'Bernicre when sent by Governor Gage in 
February, 1775, to sketch the roads between Boston and Worcester. 
In December, 1775, she prayed the interposition of the General 
Court, stating that she was his niece and adopted heir, had lived 
with him about seventeen years, and on his departure from the 
town was left with a part of his family in possession of his estate; 
but the Committee of Correspondence of Marlborough had entered 
upon it, sold a part, and proposed to dispossess them entirely.^ In 
1777 she was in Bristol, England, with Henry Barnes and his wife.* 
In The Gentleman's Magazine, November, 1784, is this : " Married 
at Pool, Dr. Sylvester Gardiner formerly of America, aged eighty 
[he was 77] to Miss Catherine Goldthwait, daughter of Thomas 
Goldthwait, Esqr., late of Penobscot in New England, aged twenty 
eight" (she was 40). Gardiner, Maine, was named for her hus- 
band. Mrs. Gardiner, left a wndow in 1786, married William 
Powell, a wealthy merchant of Boston. She had no children but 
adopted two of her grandnieces. She lived on Beacon Street, and 
died in 1830, aged eighty-six. 

3. Esther, bom Jan. 11, 1745/6; married (1) July 4, 1765, 
Capf. Timothy Eogers of Gloucester; (2) June 7, 1770, Peter 
Dolliver of Gloucester, sea captain. Her son Timothy Eogers (born 
1766) entered the British Navy, and died at Lisbon in 1797. 

Feb. 19, 1746/7, Thomas Goldthwait was married by Eev. Eoger 
Price of King's Chapel to Katharine Barnes, sister of Henry 
Barnes abovementioned. The children of Thomas Goldthwait by 
his second wife were : 

4. John, born July 9, 1748 ; died Sept. 15. 

5. Thomas, born June 4, 1750; baptized in Trinity Church, 
Boston, June 17, Josiah Quincy being one of the sponsors. He 
married in England, but returned to America in 1792. Hon. 
George Goldthwait, at one time a student at the Boston Latin 
School, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alal)ama in 1856, 
Adjutant General of the State under the Confederacy, United 
States Senator 1870 to 1877, was his son; as was also Hon. Henry 
Goldthwait, Judge of the Supreme Court of Alabama 1839-1847. 
His daughter Anne married John A. Campl)ell of Alabama, a 
Justice of the United States Supreme Court, later Assistant Secre- 
tary of War for the Confederate States. 

6. Elizabeth, born iVugust 23, 1751; married Eichard Bright 

* House Journal, December 13, 1775. 

* Sabiue, Loyalists, i. 211. 



604 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVII 

of AValtliamstow, England; and died without issue Feb. 12, 
ISIO. 

7. Mary, born March 1, 1753; married Francis Archibald, Jr. 

8. Jane, baptized Feb. 16, 1755, at Trinity Church, Boston; 
died unmarried at Walthamstow, England, Feb. 13, 1804. 

9. Henry, born in Chelsea, March 29, 1759; at the age of 
sixteen was a private in his father's company at Fort Pownall ; 
later entered the British army, and died at sea in 1800. Oliver 
C. Goldthwait of London was his great-grandson. 

At the outbreak of the War of the Eevolution, Thomas Gold- 
thwait commanded Fort Pownall at the mouth of the Penobscot, 
al)out six miles northeast of Castine.^ In September, 1763, he 
was appointed by Gov. Bernard captain and truckmaster there; 
in November, Justice of the Peace and of the Quorum for Lincoln 
Co. He moved thither, apparently, in the spring of 1764. Gov- 
ernor Francis Bernard and Thomas Goldthwait purchased lands 
from Jedidiah Preble, the former commander of the fort, and 
in 1766 secured from the heirs of Gen. Waldo two-fifths of a 
tract of 2400 acres adjoining this, near the fort, and attempted 
a permanent settlement.** August 5, 1767, he was commissioned 
a special Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Lincoln 
County, and in 1769 Colonel of the Second Eegiment of the Lin- 
coln County militia. He was superseded at the fort, it is said, by 
John Preble, son of its first commander, in 1770, and reinstated 
by Gov. Hutchinson in 1771. He was empowered to call the 
first town meeting of Belfast, Maine, and was chosen moderator 
when it met Nov. 11, 1773. In 1775 the fort, while under his 
command, was dismantled by Capt. Mowatt of the British sloop 
Canceau, who afterwards destroyed Falmouth. Later the people of 
Belfast appeared in force and compelled Goldthwait to deliver to 
them arms and ammunition. The House of Eepresentatives did not 
approve his conduct at the dismantling of the fort, and in voting 
the pay roll for Fort Pownall, Oct. 25, 1775, excepted his name." 

Sabine says : " Early in the war he embarked for Nova Scotia, 
was shipwrecked on the passage, and perished"; but it was other- 
wise. It does not appear where he was between 1775 an^ 1779, 
when, in September, he arrived in New York City on " His 
Majesty's Ship Blonde," A. Barclay, Esq., Commander, which 

° For an account of this fort see Williamson, History of Belfast, Maine, 
pp. 50-58; Bangor Hist. >Mag., vii. Gl. The Journal of Governor Pownall 
during his expedition to erect it is in Maine Hist. Soc. Coll., v. 365. 

« See Knox Papers, li. 1, 11 ; 1. 17G-1S0, in MSS. Coll. N. E. Gen. Soc. 

' House Journal, p. 194; also Journals of the Provincial Congress, May 
15, 1775. 



Chap. XVII] APPENDIX 1 



60i 



brought advices of British successes on the Penobscot « Dec 23 
1779 he sailed thence for England, where Hutchinson notes his 
arrival at Portsmouth, Feb. 15, 1780.'-' Curwen " wrote June 28 
1782, " Met T. Goldthwait, and rode with him to Charino- Cross- 
invited me to dme at his house, Walthamstow '' (near L^ondon)' 
Also July 27, 1782, " Dined at New England Coffce-House on fish 
m company with Mr. Flucker, Francis Waldo, Mr. Hutchinson' 
Thomas Goldthwait." July 29. " Through Hackney to Waltham- 
stow, where dmed with Mr. Goldthwait." 

According to the gravestones in Walthamstow churchvard his 
wife Catherine died Dec. IG, 1796, aged 81, and he died Au-ust 
31, 1799, aged 83. Two nephews, sons of his brother Joseph 
were accounted loyalists: Joseph, Major and Barrack-master of 
the King's troops m Boston, proscribed and banished in 1778 
died m New York Oct. 3, 1779; and Philip, an officer of the 
customs at Biddeford, Maine, at the outbreak of war, and later. 
It IS said, a member of the King's household as Gentleman of the 
Bed Chamber.^^ 

Some very unfavorable accounts of Col. Goldthwait liave been 
published, which I do not feel at liberty to withhold, but in 
referring to them suggest, first, that they were mainly' written 
after he had become obnoxious as a loyalist; secondly, that his 
position on the Penobscot was one in which it would have been 
impossible to protect the- just rights of the Indians against tur- 
bulent frontiersmen outside any efficient government, without 
incurring their hostility, since their only sense of justice was 
their desire for exclusive possession of lands which' rightfully 
belonged to the original occupants. In 1859, one hundrecl years 
after the founding of the fort, a writer in the New England 
Plistorical and Genealogical Eegister^^ g^j^j. « QqJ_ Goldthwaite 
has left behind him in the valley of the Penobscot a bad reputa- 
tion. He was arbitrary, cruel, and an extortioner. The Indians 
complained loudly of his unfair treatment of them in his dealings 
with them." This view of the man was accepted by Joseph Wil- 
liamson, the historian of Belfast, Maine, who speaks of him as " an 
unscrupulous man of considerable ability."" E. Goldthwait 

* Pt. Goldthwait Carter, "Col. Thomas Goldthwait — Was He A Tory." 
p. 95. " 

" Diary, ii. 341. 

'" Journal and Letters (ed. 1SG4), .3.S1. 

" Boston Transcript, December 2, 1893; House Journal, Nov. Sess. 1775, 
pp. 225, 227, etc. 
" Vol. xiv. 8. 

See also his letter to Judpe Cliamborlain, November 17, 1893, in 
Chamberlain MSS., viii. 135; Bangor Hist. Mag. (November, 18SG), v. 87. 



GOG HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVII 

Carter read before tlie Maine Historical Societ}'^ Dec. 19, 1895, 
a paper on " Col. Thomas Goldthwait — Was He a Tory? " which 
shows much research, and a commendable purpose to rescue from 
reproach one whose blood he inherits. 

Col. Thomas Goldtliwait's connection with Chelsea extended over 
about ten years. Sept. 1, 1752, Henry Atkins, Ezekiel and Thomas 
Goldthwait, and four associates purchased from Lt. Thomas Pratt 
140 acres at Point Shirley,^'* where a fishing station was estab- 
lished. This enterprise Avas favored by Gov. Shirley, whose name 
was given to the locality. It also received encouragement from 
the town of Boston, which voted May 15, 1753, to lease Deer 
Island to the proprietors for seven years at twenty shillings a year 
on condition that twenty vessels belonging to the inhabitants of 
Boston should be employed in the fishery at the Point, " the above 
said Vessells to be of the Burthen of Forty Tuns, One with the 
other." ^^ The lessees were to keep the buildings in repair, and 
pay the taxes. At a town meeting held June 12, 1758, inquiry 
being made whether the condition had been complied with, the 
proprietors acknowledged that they had been prevented by the 
war with the French from sending out as many vessels or schooners 
as their lease required, " having had three or four Vessells taken 
when a fishing by the French," but when the war ended " they 
intended ' to carry on the Fishery again at said Point Shirley." 
They offered to yield up the island to the town. Thomas Gold- 
thwait was lessee of the island from Dec. 1, 1758 to Dec. 1, 1765 at 
£28 a year, and Ebenezer Pratt was his under-tenant.^'^ The 
fishing enterprise at Point Shirley was doomed to ultimate failure. 

Apparently Thomas Goldthwait, a merchant in Boston, was 
heavily in debt when, a few years after the purchase, he settled at 
Point Shirley. Thus April 5, 1750, he owed Josiah Quincy £300, 
and Xovember 24, 1753, James Boutineau of Boston, merchant, a 
like sum. Neither had been paid June 1, 1757, when he mortgaged 
his interests at Point Shirley to his brother Ezekiel to secure the 
latter in serving as his bondsman. His interest then was one 
eighth of the lands, " Together with all such Dwelling Houses 
Warehouses Edifices & Buildings that I have Erected, or that now 
stand upon said Land." " Feb. 15, 1753, he denominated himself 
in a conveyance as of Boston; July 17, 1755, as of Chelsea.^^ One 

" SufT. Deeds, L. 81, f. 154. 

" Boston Rec. Com. Rep., xiv. 236, 237. 

*" Supra, p. 143. In 1759, troops were in barracks at Point Shirley. 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 91, f. 2. 

'* Ihid., L. 82, f. 35; L. 87, f. 121. The birth of his daughter Mary, 
March 1, 1753, was recorded at Boston; that of Henry, in 1759, at Chelsea; 
that of Jane at neither place. 



CiiAP. XVII] APPENDIX 1 607 

of his shop-bills," June 26, 1754, to February 19, 1756, indicates 
tliat he carried on a general merchandise business, possibly at Point 
Shirley, where he was taxed in 1755 for four schooners, and for his 
" faculty," as a man's ability and opportunities for acquiring wealth 
were called. 

In March, 1753, and again in 1754, the town of Chelsea voted 
to remit the year's taxes to the proprietors and inhabitants of Point 
Shirley; but by 1755 the business was prosperous apparently. 
The residents then came forward to demand a share in the man- 
agement of town affairs. March 10, 1755, Chelsea voted "y* the 
Freeholders of Shirley point & oth^" Inhabitants legally qualified 
be Voters in our Town Meetings " ; also that " the Xumber of 
Select Men be 5 and 1 of 'em to be at Shirley point." Thomas 
Goldthwait was the selectman chosen. Two constables were also 
elected, one of whom, " Jn? AVormsted," was from Point Shirley. 
In May of the same year, it was voted to post notifications of town 
meetings at Shirley Point. At the annual town meeting in March, 
1756, Thomas Goldthwait was again chosen selectman and "John 
Wormstill," constable, and Capt. Moses Bennett " Survey^' of high 
AVays at y'^ point." New officials were then created, cullers of 
fish: John Wormstill and John Pomeroy. May 18, 1756, Thomas 
Goldthwait was chosen moderator of the town meeting, an honor 
hitherto reserved for Hon. Samuel Watts or Capt. Nathaniel 
Oliver. At this meeting it was voted that the tax collected at 
Point Shirley for the support of the ministry should be expended 
there.-*^ June 37, 1757, John Chandler was approved by the select- 
men as innholder at the Point.^^ 

Throughout his residence at Point Shirley Thomas Goldthwait 
was one of the leading men of Chelsea, and from 1757 its repre- 
sentative in the General Court.^^ From the first he seems to have 
supported the Governor's party. Dec, 9, 1757, he voted with the 
minority, including Chambers Eussell and Michael Dalton, for 
the use of the militia " on certain Occasions " in defence of the 
Province.^^ He entered the Legislature in June, 1757; during 
the following December and January, as a member of the Com- 
mittee " on Petitions from sick and wounded Soldiers," he began 
to have an active share in the committee work of the House.^* At 

" Chamberlain MSS. iii. 72. 

^" See infra, chap. xxvi. note 20. 

=^ Chamberlain MSS., iv. 53. 

,"' See supra, pp. 586, note 9; 589, note 13. 

'" For other votes see October 12, 1758; February 3, 17G2; February 1, 
1764, etc. . 

=" House Journal, pp. 227, 242, 243, 251, 252, 257, 286, 293, 294, 295, 
304, etc. 



608 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVII 

the December session, 1758, he was placed on a joint committee 
of the two houses to prepare a " new impression of the perpetual 
laws," the edition of 1759. March 28, 1759, he was chosen one 
of three Commissioners for settling the affairs of the Land Bank.-^ 
After the fire in Boston, which destroyed a tenth of the town, 
he was one of a joint committee of the House and Council, March 
25, 1760, to consider the Governor's message on the rebuilding 
of the town, and the widening and opening of streets.-*^ 

June 27, 1760, he was appointed by the Council to pay the army 
" at the AVestward." He journeyed to Crown Point and elsewhere, 
and, according to his memorial, was three 3'ears in settling accounts 
with 4.000 soldiers. April 23, 1762, Gov. Bernard in a message to 
the Legislature wrote : " Upon my undertaking to raise the Pro- 
vincial Troops for the last Year, I found it quite necessary to have 
a Secretary extraordinary for that Department. I accordingly 
engaged Mr. Goldthwait, a Gentleman of your own House, wholly 
unexceptionable, and in some Eespects particularly qualified for 
that Business. The Punctuality and Integrity with which he hath 
executed that Office, deserve my Commendation, and the Attention 
which he hath had to the Interests of the Province in Matters of 
Account and Expence, intitles him to your Favour. I therefore 
recommend to you, to grant him a Compensation for his Service 
for the Year past." ^^ April 2-i, 1762, the House voted £150 to 
Thomas Goldthwait " for going to New Yorli to settle an Affair 
with Sir Jell'ery Amherst, relative to the Troops; and paying the 
billetting Money to the Soldiers, and for his assisting in raising the 
Levies, and all other Services to this Day." ^® In a special message 
dated June 2, 1763, Governor Bernard said : " I Must again recom- 
mend to you to make a Compensation to Mr. Goldthwait for the 
last Year's Service in his assisting me in the Care of the Provincial 
Troops," the need of such " a Secretary extraordinary for that 
department," having been pointed out in the message of April 23, 
1762. In response thereto, £150 was granted.^" The Boston 
News-Letter of June 23, 1763, printed an order to armv officers 
signed June 18 by " Thomas Goldthwait, Secr'y at War."^" May 
27, 1763, he was appointed one of a committee of three to '^ pro- 
vide a New Impression of the Temporary Laws, with a Table to 
the same." ^^ June 11, he was added to the committee for the 

^° Acts and Resolves of Prov. of Mass., i. xiv; iv. 189. 

="> lUd., iv. 357. 

"" House Journal (17G1, 17G2), p. 326. 

^ Ibid., 331; Council Records, December 2, 1761. 

=" House Journal (1763, 1764), 48, 79. 

^" See also IVIass. Archives, xcix. 154, 184; Council Records, July 17, 1761. 

*^ House Journal, p. 13; Council Records, July 27, 1763. 



CiiAP. XVII] APPENDIX 1 609 

repair of the Castle ^^ ; June 15, he was chosen one of a com- 
mittee of five to examine during the recess of the Legislature the 
accounts of the agent in England. ^^ 

Sept. 19, 1763, the Boston Post-Boy and Advertiser stated that 
Thomas Goldthwait, " Secretary at War," had been appointed cap- 
tain and truckmaster at Fort Pownall. Early in the same month 
Governor Bernard left Boston for a visit eastward, whence he 
returned about the middle of October. In his message to the Leg- 
islature Jan. 14, 1764, he announced that he had " commissioned 
Capt. Goldthwait to the Command of Fort [Pownall] ; and by the 
Advice of the Council, appointed him Truckmaster" there, these 
offices having been resigned by General Preble. " Soon after this 
Appointment I went with Capt. Goldthwait to Fovt-PoivnaU." for 
the regulation of the trade there and Indian affairs. Governor Ber- 
nard advised the appointment of a chaplain and the augmenting of 
the garrison, referring the Legislature to Capt, Goldthwait for 
details. The appointment was confirmed, the garrison was aug- 
mented, a chaplain was provided, and it was voted to buikl a 
" Barrack " 40 X 24 to shelter the Indians against cold and storm 
when they came to trade.^* At this time, as it happened, there was 
an epidemic of small pox, and the House in fear thereof adjourned- 
to Cambridge January 16. On January 21 an order was brought 
down from the Council for the concurrence of the Plouse, permit- 
ting the inoculation of the people of Boston at Point Shirlcy.^^ 
February 8, 1764, the proprietors of Point Shirley and the select- 
men of Boston met in the Council Chamber at the call of Governor 
Bernard. " And his Excellency in Council represented to the 
Proprietors the great Advantage that might probably arise to the 
Publick if the Houses at Point Shirley might be improved for 
Inoculation, and recommended to them to consent thereto, and 
thereupon they declared their Willingness that the said Houses 
should be so improved. And His Excellency with the Advice of 
the Council was pleased to approve thereof, and it was Recom- 
mended to the Selectmen to give Publick notice." The town of 
Chelsea ordered the selectmen to remonstrate to the Governor 
and Council, but finally yielded.^*' This ended Thomas Gold- 
thwait's connection with Chelsea. Thenceforth his history belongs 
to Maine. 

'= House Journal (1763, 1764), 85. 

^ Ibid., 102; see also pp. 19, 26, 34, 35, 56, 70, 149, 177, etc. 

" Ibid., 190, 202, 208, 209, 240, 

'' Ibid.,2U. 

" See infra, vol. ii, 

VOL I. — 39 



CIO HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVII 



APPENDIX 2 

Allex vs. Eustace 

Writ of Attachment ^ 
Suffolk ss : * 

George the second by the Grace of God of Great Brit- 
ain, France and Jreland King Defender of the Faith &c^: 
To the Sherriff of our County of Suffolk his Under Sherriff or 
Deputy Greeting. — 

"We CoMiiAND you that you summon Joshua Eustice Housewright 
and Abigail Eustice Widow both of Chelsea in our County of 
Suffolk (if they may be found in your precinct) to appear before 
our Justices of our Inferiour Court of Common pleas to be holden 
at Boston within and for our said County of Suffolk on the first 
Tuesday of October next then & there in our said Court to Answer 
to John Allen of Boston in the County of Suffolk Goldsmith a 
person non compos mentis who sues by William Fairfield of Boston 
aforesaid Bricklayer his Guardian, Hannah Danforth of Taunton 
in our County of Bristol Widow, Jeremiah Wheelwright of Boston 
aforesaid Gentleman, James Allen of Boston aforesaid an Infant, 
William Allen of Boston aforesaid an Jnfant, Jeremiah Allen of 
Boston aforesaid an Infant — Martha Allen of Boston aforesaid 
an Infant which said Infants sue by their Guardian Abiel Walleye 
of Boston aforesaid Esquire, Jonathan Belcher of Halifax in our 
Province of Nova Scotia Esquire and Abigail his Wife , Jn a plea 
of Ejectment wherein the plant^: Demand against the Defendt^ 
the possession of a ]\Iessuage and about Two hundred acres of 
Land adjoyning situate in Chelsea aforesaid bounded as follows 
to wit Southeasterly and Southwesterly on the Eiver, North- 
westerly partly on the highway and on Land in the possession of 
Samuel W^atts Esq , Northeasterly partly on Land in the possession 
of Samuel Sprague and partly on Bass Creek so called. Where- 
upon the plant? say that Eichard Bellingham late of Boston afore- 
said Esq deceased was seized of the demanded premisses in his 
demesne as of Fee and being so seized on the twenty Eighth day of 
November A. D. 1673. by his last Will and Testament in writing 

^ Court Files, Inferior Court of Common Pleas for Sviffolk County, July 
term, 1758. The original writ with the official endorsements thereon. 



Cii-vr. XVII] APPENDIX 2 611 

duly proved and approved an Authentic Copy of which Will and 
Probate thereof in Court shall be produced devised the premisses 
among other Lands after the decease of his Wife to his Son Samuel 
Bellingham for life, and after his decease to the said Samuel's 
Daughter Elizabeth Bellingham for Life, and after her decease to 
John Oxenbridge & James Allen both of Boston aforesaid Clerks 
John Eussell of Hadley and Anthony Stoddard of Boston Shop- 
keeper and their heirs in trust for certain pious & charitable pur- 
poses in said last Will and Testament particularly set forth and 
declared, and afterwards. Viz*: on the thirtieth of the same No- 
^•ember, the said Eichard Bellingham died so seized of the prem- 
isses, and after the death of the said Eichard's Wife the said 
Samuel Bellingham entered & was seized of the demanded prem- 
isses for the term of his natural Life & being so seized on the third 
day of August A. D. 1703 died, after whose Death the premisses 
by force of the said devise came to the said Elizabeth Bellingham 
and she became seized thereof for term of her life, and afterwards, 
Vizt on the third day of February A. D. 1745 died, and the plant? 
further say that the said James Allen the Devisee survived all the 
other Devisees in the said last Will and Testament named, and on 
the twenty second day of May A. D. 1705 was only living of the 
said devisees & so became solely seized of the remainder aforesaid 
expectant on the said Elizabeth's life to execute the trust in said 
Will set forth, and thus surviving and being seized the said James 
Allen on the twenty second of September A. D. 1710 died so seized, 
and the plant? are all the heirs and representatives of the said' 
James Allen to wit the said John Allen is son of the said Devisee 
James Allen, the said Hannah Danforth is daughter of the said' 
Devisee James Allen, the said Jeremiah Wheelwright is son of 
l^Lary Wheelwright deceased daughter of Jeremiah Allen deceased 
son of the said devisee James Allen, the plant? James Allen, Wil- 
liam Allen, Jeremiah Allen & Martha Allen are Children of Jere- 
miah Allen deceased, son of Jeremiah Allen deceased son of the 
said devisee James Allen, the plant. Abigail Belcher is Daughter 
of Jeremiah Allen decea.sed son of the said Jeremiah Allen deceased 
son of the said James Allen the Devisee aforesaid, and the plant^ 
since the decease of the said Elizabeth Bellingham to wit on the 
thirteenth day of September Current entered into the demanded 
premisses and thereby became seized thereof in their demesne as 
of Fee in trust for the Execution of the pious and charitable uses 
in said Will set forth & ought now to be in the possession thereof, 
but the defendants have since unjustly entered thereinto & still 
hold the plant^ out, To the Damage of the said John Allen (who 
sues as aforesaid) Hannah Danforth, Jeremiah Wheelwright, & 



612 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVII 

James Allon, William Allen Jeremiah Allen and Martha Allen 
Infants who sue as aforesaid, Jonathan Belcher & Abigail Belcher 
as they say the sum of one thousand pounds which shall then & 
there be made to appear, with other due Damages : & have vou 
there this writ, with your doings therein. Witness Eliakim Hut- 
chinson Esq. at Boston the nineteenth day of September in the 
thirty first Year of our Eeign Annoque Domini 1757. — 
(Endorsed on back:) Middlecott Cooke Cler 

Suffolk ss Chelsea September the 19 1757 J summoned the within 
named Defendents to appear at the time and Court within men- 
tioned By Leaving an attested Copy of this writ at Each of there 
abodes Gideon Thayer Dept Sheriff Trauel & Service = 9 = 
And William Thompson of Elsham in Lincolnshire in Great Brit- 
ain Esq. being admitted Def* in Lieu of the s"? Joshua & Abigail 
Comes & Defends &c & says the s^ Joshua & Abigail are not Guilty 
as the Pl^^ Declare & there of puts &c. Benj Prat ^ 

N? 36. Jury in Allen v. Eustice : ^ — - 

Jon?^ Williams Forem, Oliver Wiswall, Tho? Snow, Benj? 
Browne, EbenF Whiting, Preserved Baker, Benj? Sylvester, Elijah 
Waters, John Wight, Will^ M"=Clan, Matthew White, John Joy.* 

TnoMrsoN, Appellant, vs. Allen 

Court's Judgment ^ 

At His Majesty's Superiour Court of Judicature Court of Assize 
and General Goal Delivery, held at Boston within and for the 
County of Suffolk on the third Wednesday of February (being 
the 21?* day of said Month) Annoque Domini 1759. . . . AVilliam 
Thompson of Elsham in Lincolnshire in Great Britain Esquire 

■ Endorsed when folded: "Allen &ca vs. Eustice &ca Writ . Octo 1757. 
Abiel Walley." 

^ Filed with the Writ of Attachment. 

* On the back is written : " The Deposition Joseph Barrell to be used in 
a Case to be tryed at his Majs Infer Court of Comn Pleas to be Holden at 
Boston July 1758 — " * 

® Records of the Superiour Court of Judicature, 17.57-1750, p. 522. 
August 1, 1758, Benjamin Lincoln and Samuel White were appointed 
special justices of the Superiour Court in tlie place of Judges Cushing and 
Russell in any cause relating to the validity of the will of Governor Bel- 
lingham. (Whitmore, Mass. Civil List.) Hon. John Cushing was cousin 
of Thomas Cushing, agent of Thompson for the Eustis farm and other 
estates. Hon. Chambers Russell was brother of Hon. James Russell, who 
owned, in the right of his wife, one-third of the Townsend farm of the 
Bellingham estate. 



Chap. XVII] APPENDIX 2 613 

Appellant, vs John Allen of Boston in the County of Suffolk Gold- 
smith, a person A^on Compos Mentis, who Sues by William Fair- 
field of said Boston Bricklayer his Guardian, Hannah Danforth of 
Taunton in the County of Bristol Widow, Jeremiah Wheelwright 
of said Boston Gentleman, James Allen of said Boston an Jnfant, 
William iVllen of said Boston an Jnfant, leremiah Allen of said 
Boston an Jnfant, Martha Allen of said Boston an Jnfant, which 
said Jnfants Sue by their Guardian Abiel Walley of said Boston 
Esquire, Jonathan Belcher of Hallifax in the Province of Nova 
Scotia Esqr and Abigail his Wife Appellee's, from the Judgment 
of an Jnferiour Court of Coihon pleas held at Boston in and for 
said County of Suffolk on the first Tuesday of luly A D 1758. when 
and where the Appellee's were plan'ts and the Appellant was 
defendant. Jn a plea of Ejectment &c?^ as in the Writ tested the 
lOt^i day of September A D 1757. and on file at large Appears. 
At which said Inferiour Court ludgrtient was rendred that the 
said lohn Allen (a person non Compos Mentis) hy William Fair- 
field his Guardian, Hannah Danforth leremiah Wheelwright 
Gentleman, lames Allen an Infant, AYilliam Allen an Infant, 
leremiah Allen an Jnfant, Martha Allen an Jnfant, by Abiel 
Walley, and lonathan Belcher and Abigail his Wife Guardians as 
aforesaid, Eecover against the said William Thompson Possession 
of the Premisses Sued for, and Costs of Suit. This Appeal was 
bro't forward at the last Term of this Court for this County, and 
from thence Continued to this Court by Consent, and now the said 
William comes and says that after the last Continuance of this 
Action and before the Setting of this Court Viz* on the ninth day 
of November last, at said Boston, the said lohn Allen died, and 
because the other Appellees do not deny the same, but admit it to 
be true, therefore It 's Considered by the Court that the Surviving 
Appellees proceed no further in the Suit aforesaid, and that the 
said William be no further held to Answer thereto.] 



614 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVII 



APPENDIX 3 

[Danforth vs. Sargent et al 

Writ of Aitacliment ^ 
Suffolk : ss : 

The Goverment and people of the Masschusetts Bay 
in New England. 

To the Sheriff of our Counties of Suffolk and 
Middlesex their Eespective Under Sheriffs or Deputies 
Greeting 

We Command you to Attach the Goods or Estates of 
David Sergent of Maiden in the County of Middlesex aforesaid 
Yeoman, David Sergent Jun"^ Ebenezer Sergent Daniel Prat 
Samuel Hutton Pratt Yeoman Samuel Prat Tanner and Daniel 
Prat Jun^" Infant all of Chelsea in the County of Suffolk aforesaid 
to the Value of Two thousand pounds and for want thereof to take 
the Bodies of the said David Sargent David Sargent jun^ Ebenezer 
Sargent Daniel Prat Samuel Hutton Prat Samuel Prat and Daniel 
Prat jun"" (if they may be found within your precinct) and them 
safely Keep, so that you have them before our lustices of our In- 
ferior Court of Common pleas, next to be holden at Boston within 
and for our County Suffolk aforesaid on the second Tuesday of 
luly next then and there in our said Court to Answer unto Samuel 
Danforth of Boston aforesaid Physician in a plea of trespass for 
that the said David Sargent David Sargent Jun^ Ebenezer Sargent 
Daniel Prat Samuel Hutton Prat Samuel Prat and Daniel Prat 
Jun"^" at said -Chelsea on the thirtienth Day of April last past with 
force and Arms broke and enter'd the Plantiffs Close lying in said 
Chelsea and then and there with Force as aforesaid Broke and 
cnterd the Pltfs Dwelling house lying in Chelsea as aforesaid and 
there with Force as aforesaid the Pltf out of the possession thereof 
put and Kept from the said thirtienth Day of April to the twen- 
tieth Day of May last past — all which is against the peace and 
To the Damage of the said Samuel Danforth as he saith the sum 
of Two thousand pounds, which shall then and there be made to 

^ Court Files, Inferior Court of Common Pleas, July term, 1779, in the 
basement of the Court House in Boston. 



Chap. XVII] APPENDIX 3 615 

appear, with other Due Damages. And have you there this Writ 
with your Doings therin Witness Thos Cusing Esquire at Bos- 
ton this twenty eighth Day of June in the year of our Lord Christ 
one thousand seven hundred and seventy Nine — Ezek' Price Cler 

By Virtue of the within Precept I have attached the Goods & 
Estate of the within named David Sergent junV Ebenezer Sergent 
Daniel Prat Samuel Hutton Prat Yeoman Samuel Prat Taner and 
Daniel Prat Jur Infant all of Chelsea in the County of Suffolk to 
the Value commanded in the Avithin Precept & left summones at 
their respective places of Abode. 

Boston June twenty ninth one thousand seven hundred and 
seventy Nine. Shubael Hewes Dp^^ ShfF 

1 have made Dcligent search for the within named David Sergent 
and Could not find him nor his Goods or Estate within my 
precinct Shubael Hewes Dp'y Shff 
And the said David Sargent jun^ Ebenezer Sargent Daniel Pratt, 
Sam^ Hutton Pratt, Sam' Pratt jun? & Danl Pratt jun^". come into 
Court & by W^ Tudor their Attorney severally defend &^ & say 
they are not guilty & thereof put &*^ W™ Tudor 

And the Pit likewise. — Benj?- Hichborn ^ 

Summons to Witnesses and Certificate of Attendance ^ 

Suffolk ss. To Saml Watts Gen* — Isaac Watts & Benj° Bill yeo- 
men all of Chelsea in the County afores^ Saml Swan 
& Daniel Swan of Charlestown Yeomen & Eben? 
Pratt of Maiden yeoman, all in the County of Middle- 
sex, — Greeting 
You are hereby Required in the name of the Government & people 
of the Mass*^*^ Bay in New England, to make your appearance 
before the justices of our Inferior Court of Common pleas to be 
holden at Boston, within & for the County of Suffolk on the 2^ 
Tuesday of July, to give Evidence of what you know relating to 
an action or plea of trespass, then & there to be heard & tried be- 
twixt Saml Danforth vs David Sargeant & others — 

Hereof fail not, as you will answer your default under tlie pains 

& penalty in the law in that behalf made & provided, Dated at 

Boston " July A D. 1779 

This may certify that we the subscribers gave our attendance at 

the within court on the within mentioned cause, the number of 

days written against our respective names — 

2 Endorsed when folded: " Danforth vs. Sargent & al. July 1779. New 
Entries. Hichborn." 

^ Filed with the writ of attachment. Autograph signatures. 



G16 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVII 

Samuel Swan 3 Days 
Daniel Swan 3 Days 
Samuel Watts 3 Days 
Isaacs "W^atts 3 Days 
Benjamin Bill 3 Days 

Verdict of the Jury "* 

Sam^ Danforth Pltf David Sergeant jun'' Ebenezer Sergeant Dan' 
Pratt Sam Hutton Pratt Sam' Pratt jun^" Dan' Pratt jun^" Deft« 
The Jury find David Sergeant jun"" Eben"^ Sergeant Dan' Pratt 
Sam' Hutton Pratt Sam' Pratt jun'' Dan' Pratt jun^ Guilty & 
Assess Damage David Sergeant jun"" fifty pounds EbenV Sergeant 
fifty pounds Dan! Pratt Eight hundred pounds Sam' Hutton Pratt 
twenty Shillings Sam' Pratt jun^" Dan'. Pratt JunV twenty Shillings 
Each 

Judgment in the Inferior Court ^ 

Suffolk ss. At an Inferior Court of Common Pleas, begun and 
held at Boston, within and for the County of Suffolk, on the sec- 
ond Tuesday of July, (being the thirteenth day of said Month) 
Anno Domini 1779. Before the Honf Thomas Cushing, Samuel 
Niles, & Joseph Gardner, Esquires, Justices. . . . 

Samuel Danforth of Boston, in the County of Suffolk, physi- 
cian, pit vs David Sargent Junr, Ebenezer Sargent, Daniel Pratt, 
.p^ „ , Samuel Hutton Pratt, Yeomen, Samuel Pratt, 

Tanner, and Daniel Pratt Jun. Infant, all of Chel- 
vs 
^^ f * 1 ^^^ ''^ ^^^ County of Suffolk, Dfts, in a plea of 

^ ' trespass for that the said David Sargent Jun? 

Ebenezer Sargent, Daniel Pratt, Samuel Hutton Pratt, Samuel 
Pratt and Daniel Pratt Jun? (together with one David Sargent 
upon whom the original Writ was not served) at said Chelsea, on 
the thirtieth day of April last past, with force and Arms broke 
and entered the plaintiff's Close, lying in said Chelsea, and then 
and there with force as aforesaid broke and entered the pit's dwell- 
ing house, lying in Chelsea as aforesaid, and there with force as 
aforesaid the pit out of the possession thereof put and kept from 
the said thirtieth day of April to the twentieth day of May last 
past, all which is against the peace and to the damage of the said 
Samuel Danforth as he saith, the Sum of two thousand pounds. 
And the said David Sargent Jun"" Ebenezer Sargent, Daniel Pratt, 
Samuel Hutton Pratt, Samuel Pratt Jun? and Daniel Pratt Jim? 
come into Court and by William Tudor Esq? their Attorney, sev- 

■* Filed as above. 

" Records of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas, 1776-1779, f. 144. 



Chap. XVII] APPENDIX 3 617 

erally defend &^ and say they are not guilty and thereof put &^ — 
And the plaintif by Benjamin Hichborn, EsqV liis Attorney like- 
wise : this case after a full hearing was committed to the Jury sworn 
according to law to try the same who returned their Verdict therein 
upon Oath, that is to sa}^, they find that the Defendants are Guilty 
as set forth in the Writ and Assess Damages viz* David Sargent 
lunF fifty pounds, Ebenezer Sargent fifty pounds, Daniel Pratt 
eight hundred Pounds, Samuel Hutton Pratt twenty shillings, 
Samuel Pratt lun^' twenty shillings and Daniel Pratt lunF twenty 
shillings. Its therefore Considered by he Court that the said Sam- 
uel Danforth recover against the said David Sargent lun'' the sum 
of fifty pounds lawful money; against the said Ebenezer Sargent 
fifty pounds lawful money; and Daniel Pratt the Sum of Eight 
hundred Pounds lawful money, the said Samuel Hutton Pratt the 
sum of twenty shillings, lawful money ; the said Samuel Pratt lun"^ 
the sum of twenty shillings and against the said Daniel Pratt lunF 
the sum of twenty shillings, lawful money, Damages and Costs of 
Suit. — The Defendants after entring up of this Judgment came 
into Court and Appealed from the same unto the next Superiour 
Court of Judicature to be holden for this County, and entered into 
Eecognizance with sureties as the law directs, for prosecuting their 
Appeal to Effect. 

Sargent ct al Appellants vs Danforth ® 

Recognizance for the Appeal 

Suffolk, ss. Memorandum 

That on the fiftli Day of August Annoque Domini, 1779, be- 
fore the Justices of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas within 

" Nine papers in this case have been preserved in Suff. Early Court Files 
No. 102,009. One bears the endorsement, — " this Case Contains four 
Papers Atts Ezekl Price Cler." These papers sent up from the lower court, 
each attested by Ezekiel Price its clerk, are: (1) A copy of the writ of 
attacliment of June 28, 1779, and of its endorsements, (2) A copy of the 
verdict of the jury in the lower court. Below the attestation of Ezekiel 
Price: " Witnesses — S. Watts 13th April 79 
S. Swan 
D. Swan." 
(3) A copy of the judgment in the lower court. (4) A Memorandum of 
the recognizance of the appellant. Two papers filed will not be given in the 
text: (1) A summons issued August 18, 1779, by Oliver Peabody, Clerk of 
the Superior Court, to Samuel Watts and the five other witnesses sum- 
moned to the Inferior Court in July. The form of the writ and of the cer- 
tificate of the witnesses for three days' attendance at court were verbatim 
the same as the parallel documents in the lower court. There is no endorse- 
ment of a service of this summons. ( 2 ) A summons issued by " And. 



618 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVII 

the County of Suffolk in New - England, (the Clerk of the said 
Court being also present) personally appeared William Tudor of 
Boston, in the County of Suffolk, Esq^' Attorney to David Sargent 
jun'" Ebenezer Sargent Daniel Pratt Samuel Hutton Pratt Sam- 
uel Pratt jun"^" and Daniel Pratt jun^" Benjamin Kent, & Perez 
Morton EsqV^ and acknowledged themselves to be severally in- 
debted unto Samuel Danforth of said Boston Physician in the 
respective Sums following, viz. the said Tudor Attorney as afore- 
said. Principal, in the Sum of Ten Pounds, and the said Kent 
and Morton — Sureties, in the Sum of Five Pounds each, to be 
levied upon their several Goods or Chatties, Lands or Tenements, 
and in want thereof upon their Bodies (for the Use of the said 
Danforth) if Default be in the Performance of the Condition 
here under-written. 

The Condition of the above-written Recognizance is such, that 
if the abovenamed David Sargent & others shall and do prosecute 
an Appeal by them made from a Judgment given against them in 
the Inferior Court of Common ' Pleas holden at Boston, on the 
second Tuesday of July last for the Sum of Nine hundred and 
three pounds & Costs of Suit, at the next Superior Court of Judi- 
cature to be holden at Boston, for the County of Suffolk aforesaid, 
with Effect; Then the above-written Eecognizance to be void, 
otherwise to abide in full Force. Att^ Ezek^ Price Cler 

True Copy 

Atfs Ezek' Price Cler 

Testimomj of Dr. Aaron Dexter 

Aaron Dexter of Boston in y® County of Suffolk Physitian, of 
lawful age do testify & say that, on the IS**^ of April 1779 [I] 
went over to Chelsy to the House of Doc"" Danforth in said Town, 
where I saw, y*^ Doc? He ordered two Women to go out of his 
House & carry their effects. They refused. He told them if they 
would not go of their own accord, He should force them, which 
was very disagreable to him but possession of his own House, he 
would have. The women, Anne Sergant wife of Daveid Sergant 
JunV & Huldah Sergeant Wife of Eben? Sergeant, refuse [d] the 
DocV took Anna Sergeant by the Arm & led her out of his House & 
then Huldah Sergeant went out of her own accord, but the Doctor 
permitted them both to return on giving their word that they 
would leave the House when ever he orderd. The Doer imployed 
himself in the House for a few minutes in removing the things, 

Hcnsliaw Cler" February 22, 1779 (sic) to Jonathan Williams of Chelsea, 
served by Daniel Parks February 22, 1780. 



CiiAP. XVII] APPENDIX 3 619 

& Ebenezer Sergeant came up to the Door and asked the Doctr 
what he meant by comeing into his House in such a manner — 
I dont, says Mi' Sergeant, hold the House under you. I have 
nothing to do with you, I have taken the place with M^' David 
Sergeant under the Town & I will come into the House, keep 
me out if you dare. The DocV told Him if he advancd to the 
Door to come in He would split his brains out with the Piece of 
wood he had in his hand. Mi' Sergeant persisted in urgeing to 
come in to his own house as he termd. The DocV absolutely refused 
to let him come in on his peril. MF Sergeant then askd the Dod' 
to let him come in & he w^ould help move his own things & leave 
the house whenever the DocV orderd — on these conditions the 
DocV permitted him to come into the House I dont remember 
that he did assist according to his promise — After the effects 
were removd in general — Mv David Sergeant JunV came into 
the House in the utmost rage, told the Doc^' He was a Damnd 
Eascal & He would clear the House of every one, that he had 
nothing to due with him He did not hold the place of the Doc? 
but of the Town. M? David Sergeant Stript of his cloaths doubled 
his fist with all the appearance of an intention to strike the Doc? 
but did not. At the time that David Sergeant came into the west 
room to the Doc? Eben? Sergeant Daniel Pratt, Samuel Hutton 
Pratt, David Sergeant Sen Samuel Pratt with some others whom, 
I did not know, came into the room in haste with these words, — 
now we '11 see who is strongest, who utterd the sentence I dont 
know, but some one that came into the room I am certain. 
Mi' Daniel Pratt (being in y® house) ask'd the Doc? what he meant 
by proceeding in such a manner — You have no business with 
y^ place — we shall know now, who the Place belongs to — M^'. 
Hutton Pratt walked across y^ room & pulld his coat or Jacket 
of of his Shoulders, come says he let us out with them; out of 
the room, with much importance, he continued his walks till we 
left the House. The Doc*^? orderd them all out of the House de- 
claring it to be his & no man present had any business there. He 
told David Sergeant Jun^ that he was made a Cats Paw of by the 
Town. M? Sergeant answer'd that if he was, he could Scratch. 
He with all in the room refused to leave it ever by his commands. 
The Doc? said, after repeating his orders for them to leave the 
House — we will go these People will keep y*^ Place by force. 
After Ave had got into the road David Sergeant orderd the Doc? to 
bring in his things, or by God he should pay for them. Tlio Doc'" 
says if they lay there till I bring them in — they will lay forever. 
Boston Aaron Dexter 

August y« 24 1779. 



G20 



HISTORY OF CHELSEA 



[Chap. XVII 



County of Suffolk. Boston Aug* 24\^ 17 TO. 

Tlien personally appeared Aaron Dexter & made oath to the 
truth of the aforewritten Testimony, by him subscribed. 
Before Joseph Gardner Just Peace. 

Agreement of Counsel ^ 

The Parties agree that under this Plea the Jun^ may consider 
the Def ts severally as to their guilt & as to the Damage to be ■ 
recovered of them if any & that no Exception shall be taken by 
either Party to the Verdict on this account. j t Q^-pii 

^Y^ Tudor 
Verdict of the Jury 

David Sargent Jun!" EbenF Sargent, Daniel Pratt Sam'. Hutton 
Pratt, Sam' Pratt & Dan'. Pratt Jun'' Appellants, Samuel Dant- 
forth Appellee. The lury find the Apts guilty as the Appellee in 
his declaration has declared against them, & assess damages, 
David Sargent JunF One hundred & Sixty pounds, Eben"" Sargent 
One hundred & Sixty pounds, Dan'. Pratt Seven hundred pounds, 
Sam! Hutton Pratt One hun^ & Sixty pounds, Sam'. Pratt Ten 
pounds & Dan'. Pratt JunV Ten pounds — 
Boston 22? Feby 1780 AY™ Breck Foreman 

Bill of Costs 

Suffolk Inferior Court . Conin pleas July 1779. 
Danforth \ 

vs y Pts Costs 

Sargeant & al 



Writs & service 

Decln in writ & summons .... 

Attorys fees 

Court fees 

Pits Attendee 3 — Days 

7 Witnesses attendee 3 Day's each . 
(Witnesses travel 5 two miles each. 

three Do) 
Jury fees &ca & Court fees on tryal 
Filing & Taxing 



One 



6 


9 





1 


1 





4 








3 


12 





3 


12 





21 








22 


4 





1 


4 


— 



Exd Ezekl Price Cler 



63 



2 : 



Suffolk Superior Court August 1779 

Sargeant & als Appeltsi , 

" ■ Appellee s 

vs \. » \ 

Danforth Appellee I 

Inferior Court Bill 63 : 2 : 



An endorsement on the certified copy of the verdict in the lower court. 



Chap. XVII] 



APPENDIX 3 



621 



Superior Court Bill 

Entry of action 5:8:0 

Court fees 

Pits Attene — 3 — Days 3 : 12 : 

7 Witnesses travel 5 . two miles & one three Do 
Attorys fees 

Contce : 12 : 

93 : 14 : — 
1 Subpoena 12 

94 : G 



1 


4 





4 


16 





14 : 








3G : 


— 


— 


16 : 








2 


2 


8 


168 : 


8 


8 



Siiffolk — Superior Court February term 1780 

Sargeant & a} Appellt"! 

vs IBrot over .... £94 : 6 

Danforth App'lee I 

Subpoena 

Pits attence — 2 — Days 

7 Witnesses attence — 1 — Days each 

Jury fees 

Attorney's fees 

Taxing Filing &ca Examine 

Exam<l 

Att . 0. Peabody, Cler. 

Judgment on the Appeal * 

State of Massachusetts Bay in New England 
Suffolk ss 

At the Superiour Court of Judicature, Court of 
assize, and General Goal delivery, begun and held at Boston, within 
and for the County of Suffolk, on the third Tuesday of February, 
(being the 15*^ da}^ of said Month) anno Domini 1780. 
By the Hon^^ William Gushing Esqr Chief Justice, Nathl Peaslee 
Sargeant, David Sewall, and James Sullivan Esq?'' Justices. . . . 

David Sergent Jun? of Maiden in the County of Middlesex, 
Yeoman, Ebcnezer Sergent, . . . appellants vs. Samuel Danforth 
of Boston in the County of Suffolk Physician, 
appellee, from the Judgment of an Inferiour 
Court of Common Pleas, held at Boston, in and 
for the County of Suffolk, on the Second Tuesday 
of July last, when and where the appellee was Pit and the appel- 
lants were Dfts. In a plea of Trespass, for that the said David 
Sergent Junr, Ebenezer Sergent ... at said Chelsea, on the thir- 

^ Records of the Superior Court of .Judicature. 1778-1780, p. 145. The 
omissions may be supplied from the preceding judgment in the lower court. 



Sergent, & al 

vs 
Danforth 



G22 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [CiiAr. XVII 

tccnth " day of April last past, ... all which is against the Peace, 
and to the Damage of the said Samuel Danforth, as he saith, the 
sum of Two thousand pounds, At which said Inferiour Court 
Judgment was render'd that the said Samuel Danforth recover 
against the said David Sergent, Jun?, the sum of Fifty Pounds, 
against the said Ebenezer Sergent, . . . and costs of suit. This 
appeal was Bro't forward at the last Term of this Court for this 
County, when and where the parties appeared, and from thence 
said appeal was Continued unto this Court; and now the parties 
appear and the Case after a full hearing was committed to a Jury 
sworn according to Law to Try the same, who returned their Ver- 
dict therein upon Oath, this is to say, they find " the appellants 
Guilty as the appellee has declared against them, and assess Dam- 
ages, — David Sergent Jun^ One Hundred and Sixty pounds, 
Ebenezer Sergent, one Hundred and Sixty pounds, Daniel Prat, 
Seven Hundred pounds, Samuel Hutton Prat, One Hundred 
and Sixty Pounds. Samuel Prat Ten pounds, and Daniel Prat 
Junr Ten pounds " — It is therefore Consider'd by the Court, 
that the said Samuel Danforth recover against the said David 
Sergent JunV One Hundred and Sixty pounds, against the said 
Ebenezer Sergent One Hundred and Sixty pound, against the 
said Daniel Prat Seven Hundred Pounds — against the said Sam- 
uel Hutton Prat, One Hundred & Sixty pounds . against the said 
Samuel Prat Ten Pounds, and against the said Daniel Prat 
JunF Ten pounds. Lawful Money Damage, and costs Taxed at 
£168 "8" 8" — 

I hereby acknowledge to have Pec*? thirteen Hundred Sixty eight 
Pounds, Eighi> Shillings and eight Pence, in full of the Judgment 
here given, and Costs Saml Danforth 
Att : : Peabody Cler . 

David Sargeanfs BUI ^^ 

David Sargeant 
1770 npril exppiicos for ^oing to bostoiin three times concern- 
ing docktor Danforth and the Chelsea cummittee .... 13 : 7 : 

for going to Salem three expence 7:5:0 

expence at inly cort 4 : 10 : 

ex])ence at deeeniber cort 2:5:0 

17S0 expence one Day at february cort 2:2:0 



29 



9 : 0] 



" Tlie date in the writ of attachment and the judgment in the lower 
court was April thirtieth. See supra, p. 618 and note 6, the testimony of 
Dr. Aaron Dexter and of S. Watts, S. Swan, and D. Swan. The N in 
thirtienth in the writ of attachment was interlined. 

" Chamberlain MSS., vi. 123; no endorsements. 



Chap. XVIII] THOMPSON SUES FOR THE EUSTIS FARM G23 



CHAPTER XVITI 

THE END near: THOMPSON SUES FOR THE EUSTIS FARM 

"YTTE have seen that Rev. Phillips Payson occupied the 
y \ Enstis farm, a mile away from his customary residence, 
from 177G down to 1782, and even later. This has not been 
generally known to those interested in Chelsea history, it 
having been supposed that he always lived at Revere in the 
old mansion, some years since torn, down, which stood where 
the late Benjamin H. Dewing, Esq., lived at the northwesterly 
corner of Broadway and Maiden Street; nor is this inconsist- 
ent with his occupation of the Eustis farm by tenants. 

When the war had closed, Thompson began to look up his 
estate in Chelsea, and finding Rev. Mr. Payson in possession, 
brought suit against him. The following writ is in the hand 
of .Thomas Dawes, Jr., afterwards a judge of the Supreme 
Judicial Court.-^ 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts 

Suffolk, ss. 

To the Sheriff of our County of Suffolk liis Under Sheriff, or 
Deputj', Greeting. 

We Command you to summons Phillips Payson of Chelsea & 
county of Suffolk Clerk (if he may be found within your Precinct) 
To appear before our Justices of Our Court of Common Pleas, 
next to be holden at Boston, within and for our said County of 
Suffolk, on the third Tuesday of April next, then and there in our 
said Court to answer unto Eobert Thompson ^ of Elsham in the 
Kingdom of Great Britain Esquire in a plea of Ejectment wherein 
he demands against said Payson possession of that Tract of Land 

^ Chamberlain MSS., i. 67; [the original writ with the olhcial endorse- 
ments; a printed form was used]. 

^ Robert Thompson was a descendant of one of the same name who, in 
1639, purchased the site of the first meeting-house in Boston (now the 
southeast corner of Devonshire and State streets). Old State House 
Memorial (1882), p. 24, note. See also G Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc, ix. 55. 



624 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVIII 

at Winisimitt at said Chelsea now occupied by said Payson call'd 
the little farm, viz about two hundred acres of upland & meadow 
fenc'd & inclosd from the farm formerly of Lieutenant John Smith 
Jeremiah Belcher & James [sic] Townsend, formerly land of Rich- 
ard Bellingham Esquire deceased & afterwards occupied by William 
Eustace the sea & Creek being the boundaries thereof on the South 
Easterly side & the buildings thereon also one acre & a half of an 
acre where the Clay Pit was enclosed between said Tract of Land 
& L* Smith's Corn Fields And the said Thomson says he was seised 
& possessed of said Two hundred & one acres & a half on the first 
day of April seventeen hundred & seventy four in his demesne as 
of fee taking the profits thereof to the value of seventy pounds a 
year & still ought to have the same but said Payson on the first 
day of June in the year of our Lord Seventeen hundred & seventy 
six unjustly entered into the same land diseised the Demandant 
thereof and still unjustly deforceth him 

To the Damage of the said Eobert Thomson as he says the 
Sum of Two thousand Pounds, which shall then and there be 
made to appear, with other due Damages ; and have you there this 
Writ, with A'our Doings therein. Witness Sam' Niles Esq; at 
Boston, this thirty first Day of March in the Year of our Lord 
1785 "^ Ezek. Price Cler 

By virtue of this precept I have summoned the within Named 
Phillip Payson by permiting the [said] Payson to Eead the Con- 
tents of the within precept Barth :^ Broaders Dep^J" Sherifl; ^ 

The pleadings ^ are as follows : 

Suffolk Common pleas July term 1785 Thompson vs Paj^son 
John Brown & Martha his Wife James Allen & William Allen 
come into Court & pray to be admitted to defend this Suit in the 
room of Phillips Payson which being granted y^ said John Martha 
James & William come & defend & say that y^ s^ Phillips is not 
guilty in manner & form as y*^ Plaintiff has declared against him 
& thereof put &c Benj Hichborn 

and the s*^ Thompson by Thomas Dawes Jr his Attorney reserving 
liberty to wave this demurrer & joine issue in y^ appeal ^ sa3^s that 
y^ plea afors** of y^ John Martha James & William in manner & 
form before plead is bad & insufficient in law & the s^ Thompson 

'. [Endorsed " 290. Writ. Thomson vs. Payson. July 1785. Dawes 
Atty. to Demandant."] 

* Chamberlain MSS., ii. 201. 

■* [The demandant waived the demurrer at the August term, 1787. Suff. 
Early Court Files, No. 104,718, Paper No. 7.] 



Chap. XVIII] THOMPSON SUES FOR THE EUSTIS FARM 625 

is not bound to make any answer thereto & this he is ready to 
verify — wherefore he prays Judgment for his Damages & Costs 

^ T , "T Tiawes Jr 

& ye s« John Martha James & William agreing to y^ reservation 
afors<i say their plea afors^^ is good & sufficient in law 

Benj Hichborn 

This ease was found for the defendants on a question of 
pleading. Thompson, the plaintiff, took an appeal. The 
following- is the record of the case carried to the Supreme 
Court on appeal. 

Thompson vs. Payson 
Copi/ of the Record in the Inferior Court « 

SulTolk, ss. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

At a Court of Common Pleas begun and held at Boston within 
and for the County of Suffolk, on the first Tuesday of July, being 
the fifth day of said Month, Anno Domini 1785 '^ 

Robert Thompson of Elsham in the Kingdom of Great Britain, 
Esquire Plaintiff vs. Phillip Payson of Chelsea in the County of 
Suffolk, Clerk, Defendant, in a plea of Ejectment.^ ... To the 
Damage of the said Eobert Thompson, as he says, the Sum of Two 
thousand Pounds. This Plea or Action was commenced at the 
Court of Common pleas held at said Boston on the third Tuesday of 
April last & from thence Continued to this time bv Consent of Both 
Parties And now John Brown « . . . Sufficient in law. Both 
parties being fully heard thereon the Court are of Opinion that 
the Defendants plea aforesaid is Sufficient Its therefore Consid- 
ered by the Court that the said John Brown & Martha his Wife, 
James Allen, & William Allen recover against the said Eobert 
Thompson Costs of Suit The Plaintiff after entering up of this 
Judgment came into Court & Appealed from the same unto the 
next Supreme Judicial Court to be holden for this County & 
entered into Recognizance with Sureties as the law directs, "for 
prosecuting his Appeal. 

In this case the trustees, representing the people of Chelsea, 
prevailed; but only on the pleadings, which did not include 
the rights of the parties, as will be seen. 

' MSS. Records, 1785, p. 50. 
[The judgment recites verbatim the writ of attachment.] 
[The judgment recites verbatim the foregoing pleas of Hichborn and 
Dawes. ] 

VOL. I. — 40 



626 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVIII 

While the case is suspended bj appeal, I give several facts 
of interest found in the court files,*' and not elsewhere. 
Thompson's sureties on appeal were John Gardiner and Wil- 
liam Tudor of Boston. The following paper ^ gives the date 
of the judgment (not found in the records), on which the 
Chelsea people claimed title to the Eustis farm as one of the 
estates devised to them by Governor Bellingham. 

Boston April 19*11 i^g^. 
We the Sul)scribers Heirs of the Exors. or Trustees of the last 
Will of the late Governor Bellingham, hereby give our consent that 
M^' Payson pastor of the Church at Chelsea, should have the Im- 
provement of the little farm at Winnisimet so called agreable to 
said Will and a Judgment of Court in favor thereof obtain'd in 
the Year 1758, as witniss our hands, M"* Paj'son indemnifying 
the Heirs above mentioned from all Costs & Charges that have 
arisen or may arise in prosecuting this business. 

John Browne, 
for himself & Wife 
^Y^ Allen. 
James Allen. 

It is hardly necessary to say that Browme and Allen had 
only a trust title as heirs of James Allen, one of the executors 
and trustees under Governor Bellingham's will. But they 
alone could bring or defend suits arising under the will. 

From a deposition in the case it appears that Robert Thomp- 
son was the only surviving brother and heir of William Thomp- 
son, and that Andrew Oliver, the old Secretary of Stamp Act 
memory, was an agent of both.^° The following deposition is 
of interest : ^ ^ 

« [Suff. Early Court Files, No. 104,718. The second paper filed there 
bears the endorsement: "This Case Contains five Papers," tliat is, five 
papers sent up from the lower court, each attested by Ezekicl Price its 
clerk. They were: (1) A copy of the writ of attachment with its endorse- 
ments as given in the text. (2) A copy of the " Consent " of John Browne 
ct a1. (3) A copy of the pleadings in the lower court. (4) A copy of the 
judgment in the lower court. Tiiese four documents are given in the text. 
(.')) A memorandum of the recognizance of Thomas Dawes, Jr., with the 
sureties mentioned in the text.] 

" [Deposition of Stamp Brooksbank, Esq., of London, "one of the Com- 
missioners for managing his Majestys Revenues of Excise," taken jNIay 4, 

" [Ibid., Paper No. 8. According to the endorsement of J. Davis, 
Justice of the Peace, this deposition was taken at Charlton, October 7, 1785, 



Chap. XVIII] THOMPSON SUES FOR THE EUSTIS FARM 627 

• '•' I William Eustis of Charlton in the County of Worcester . . , 
of Lawful age testify & say that in May seventeen Hundred & 
Eighty three M^' Philips Payson Jun^", was at my House in s^ 
Charlton & asked your deponant to show him the Keeceipt which 
had been taken for the payment of Bents for the Eustis Farm in 
Chelsea, on which your deponant shew the s*^ Philips sundry of s,^ 
Eeceipts, which he the s'^ Philips then wanted your deponant to let 
him have s'^ Eeceipts which I then consented to, & took his 
Eeccept for the same in the words & figures following (viz.) 
' Charlton, May 23<i '83. Eeceiv'd of M^' William Eustis forty five 
receipts for rents paid .by him & his Family for the improvment 
of the Farm called Eustis Farm P? Philips Payson, Jn'"', & your 
deponant further saith that s<^ forty five recceipts delivered to the 
s^^ Philips Payson Jun^" as afore s<^ were for Eents paid for s<* 
Eustis Farm in Chelsea & were given by Mrst^ Cushing & Oliver 
& others whoo was then reputed to be agents for the Thompsons 
whoo liv"d in England. William Eustis." ^- 

The case went by appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court, 
and the records are as follows : 

Supreme Judicial Court Records ^^ 

1787 Eobert Thompson of Elsham in the Kingdom of 

Thompson Great Britain Esq}' appellant vs. Phillips Payson 

V of Chelsea in the County of Suffolk Clerk, & John 

Payson & al Brown & Martha his Wife, James Allen & William 

Aug : Tm : Allen who were admitted at the Court of Common 

1787, before Thomas Sainsbury, Mayor of London and Justice of the Peace, 
to be used in a trial in the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts at 
the term beginning on the last Tuesday in August, 1787. John Evans 
under his notarial seal certified that Thomas Sainsbury was Lord Mayor 
and Jvistice of the Peace. The paper was then sealed and delivered to 
Robert Thompson. It was endorsed: " Suffolk ss. Augt Term 1787 Opened 
in Court and pled. Jno. Tuclcer Clr." SufT. Early Court Files, Xo. 104,718. 
Paper No. 6.] 

at tlie request of Robert Thompson, to be used in the Supreme Judicial 
Court at tlie term beginning on the tliird Tuesday of February, 178G. 
" Pliilips Payson living more than Thirty Miles from the place of Caption 
was not Notified nor did he attend." According to the attestation of John 
Tucker, Clerk, it was opened at the February term of court. The form of 
attestation used by J. Davis of Charlton, and by Thomas Sainsbury of 
London on the deposition cited in note 10 were verbatim the same.] 

'- For two depositions by William and Abigail Eustace, see supra, p. 593. 

" MSS. Records, 1787, p. 171. [According to the docket, Lowell and 
Parsons were attorneys for Thompson, Sullivan and Ilichborn for Dawes.] 



628 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVIII 

Pleas to Defend this suit in the room of the &^ Phillips appellee* 
from the Judgment of a Court of Common Pleas held at Bos- 
ton in & for the County of Suffolk on the first Tuesday of 
July.x\D 1785 when and where the appellant was plaintiff and 
the said Phillips together with the said John Brown & Martha 
his Wife, James Allen & William Allen who were admitted as 
afores*? were Defendants In a plea of Ejectment ^* . . . the 
sum of two thousand pounds At which said Court of Common 
Pleas upon the demurrer there Judgment was rendered that 
the said John Brown & Martha his Wife, James Allen & William 
Allen recover against the said Robert Thompson Costs of suit. 
This appeal was brought forward at the Supreme Judicial Court, 
held at Boston in & for the County of Suffolk on the last Tuesday 
of August A D 1785 and from thence said appeal was Continued 
from Term to Term to this present Term And now the appellees 
altho' Solemnly Called to Come into Court do not appear but 
make Default — the appellant appears and prays judgment It is 
therefore Considered by the Court that the said Robert Thompson 
recover against the said Phillips Payson, John Brown & Martha 
his AVife, James Allen & AVilliam Allen, possession of the premises 
demanded & Costs Taxed at £12 : 2 :3 : Hab : Fac. issued Sept? 
21«t 1787.1^ 

The original notes of Judge Sumner, who tried the last 
action, rescued from a paper mill, have been the clue to the 
history of the case. They are as follows :^^ 

Boston Sup : ^^ Court 

Augst 28. 1787. Thomson vs Payson 

Ejectm* — demanding 200 Acres as his Estate in Fee — Seizin 
alledged in 1774. John Brown & Ux^ & W"?^ Allen James & 
Jerem'^ take on themselves the defence of this Suit. 

Def*^ say that Phillips Payson is not Guilty 

Deed from Eich«? ^' 

Abgl Eustis & W^ Eustis Dep® lived on Thom[s]on Farm in 
1745 to 1775 & paid Pent to Il.chson & Oliver as Agents to 
Thomson 

Stamp. Brooksbank [Dep] 
that the dem* is heir of his Bro W^ & that Andrew Oliver was 
his Atfy. 

" [Recites verbatim the writ of March 31, 1785.] 

''' [Infra, p. (i33.] 

'" Chamberlain MSS., i. 07. 

" [Deed from Richard Wharton, March 15, 1GS5/G.] 



Chap. XVIII] THOMPSON SUES FOR THE EUSTIS FARM G29 

WP Eustis 
that Payson was at his House in Charlton in 1783. 46 in ISTiimber 
I delivered them to him & took his Receipts — 

Hon'''.*^ Tho? Gushing EsqF 
my father rec*? Thomson's Rent of Chelsea Farm untill his death 
which was in 1746 — Sect^ Oliver was Agent afterw*^^? — An Acc^ 
settled by Jo: Thomson 1727.i« 

Majv Spooner 
I was knowing to Gov? Olivers receivs Rents for Rob* Thomson 
of London. 

Old Colony Law 34. 44. as to the power of Genl Court to set 
a side a Will — 

the Court rejected Gov'' Bellinghams Will having been dis- 
allowed by the Genl Court 

Deft defaulted 

Judge Sumner's notes show that the case turned on the 
authority of the General Court in 1676 to set aside Governor 
Bellingham's will. I suppose the default was by agreement, 
in case the court held that the Bellingham will was legally 
disallow'ed. 

The following bills ^^ give the costs, exclusive of attorney's 
fees, of this case, in the two courts. 

Pits. Costs Thompson vs. Payson. 

Suffk. Com. Pleas. Bill April 1785. 

No. 240. Writ & service £0.2.4 

Power 0.3.0 

Atty fee 0.0.0 

Entry 0.7.0 

Pits attendance 1.5 days 1.2.0 

Continuance 0.0.8 

Depositions 0.4.0 

July. 1785. 

" No. 290 Contrt act. 

Attendance 20 days, 1 . 10 . 

Demurrer &c. Examg & tax, 0.8.0 

" [September 15, 1729, Joseph Thomson of Epsom, County of Surrey, 
England, secured a writ of summons to " John Smith of Boston, brazier," 
agent to the plaintiff from March 25, 1717, till March 25, 1729, for lands 
in Guilford, Conn., Ipswich, Billerica, Boston, etc., and for " two hundred 
Acres of Land in Boston aforesaid at Winnisemet," because he failed, on 
demand, to render an account of his stewardship. The judgment in the 
lower court was that John Smith render an account within two months. 
An appeal was taken, but no record of the appeal has been found. MSS. 
Records of the Suff. Co. Court of Common Pleas, 1729-1730, pp. 95-97; 
Suflf. Early Court Files, No. 23544.] 

" [Suff. Early Court Files, No. 104,718, Papers 9 and 10.] 



630 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVIII 

Exd Ezekl Price, Cler £4.4.0 

Suffolk ss., Sup. Jud. Court. 

at Boston August Term 1787. 
Robt Thompson apt v. Philips Payson & al. 

Appellants Cost. 

Common Pleas Bill £ 

Entry 

Appeal 

Apts Attendee, this Term 5 days 

■ Copy of ye Case 

Attorney fee 

Jury fees 

Augst Term 1785, 

Apts. Att. 13 days, 19/G Contce 1/4 

Feby Term 1786, no Cost for Apt. as pv Agreemt 

August Term 1786 Apts Att. 5 days 7/6 Contce 1/4 

Feby. Term 1787 no Cost to be tax'd for Apt ys Term only half } 

fees paid the Jury ^ 

Wm Eusties Deposition 

Exams &c 



£ 4. 


4. 





0. 


18. 





0. 


2. 


6 


0. 


7 . 


6 


0. 


• 7 . 


6 


0. 


12. 





1 . 


18. 


G 


1. 


0. 


10 


0. 


, 0. 





0. 


8. 


10 


00: 


19: 


3 


0: 


19: 


10 


0: 


3: 


6 



12: 



Examrt 

Att. Chas Cushing Cler 



Nothing remained for the town but to foot the bills and pay 
the rental of the Eustis farm from June 1, 1776, to 1787. 

December 3, 1787. "Voted Deac° John Sale Deac° Joshua 
Cheever M"^" Joseph Green M^' Abijah Hastings Cap' James Stower 
& Cap* John Sale Jun^' a Committe to Estimate the Taxes & 
Charges of that Farm at the Ferry, Since the Town have had it 
in Possession, Voted to allow the abovesaid Committee four 
shillings p^" day for the time they shall nessacarily spend in the 
abovesaid Service." ~^ 

The Agreement ivitli Thompson's Attorney "^^ 

Know all men by these presents that I Eobert Thompson of 
Elsham in the Kingdom of Great Britain in Consideration of 
Xinety pounds paid me by the Inhabitants of the town of Chelsea 
in the county of Suffolk in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
the receipt whereof I acknowledge Do for myself my heirs 
E.xecutors & administrators forever release & discharge the said 
Inhabitants of Chelsea from all charges & claims for rent which 
I ever had against them or now have for the occupation of my Farm 

^ Chelsea Town Records in loco. 

^ The original is in the possession of John P. Pierce of Revere, 



Chap. XVIII] THOMPSON SUES FOR THE EUSTIS FARM 631 

& Lands in said Chelsea called the Eustis Farm And I hereby 
release them from all demands I have against said Inhabitants 
or against any person who under them may have occupied the 
farm aforesaid Witness my hand & seal this 20th. day of July 
AD 1788 
Witness T Dawes Junr Eobert Thompson 

Wm Cranch By his attorney Thomas Dawes 

hereunto Lawfully authorized by 
Letter of Attorney as recorded in 
this Eegistry of Deeds for the 
County of Suffolk." 
August 6, 1788. " Voted that the Town approve of the Conduct 
of the Committee that Settled with Coll Dawes for the rent of 
that farm at the ferry while the Town had it in possession, and 
to have the money with the interest Assessed as Soon as may be 
to pay him.^^ 

" Chelsea aug^* 27 1788 the Select men gave Liev* Abijah 
Hastings [an order] for £3 - 4. for his time with the Com- 
mittee about the farm . . . 

" Chelsea Sep* 3 1788 gave Liev* Sam^ Pratt an order for ^6/ 
being in full of his ace* for his time sjjent with the Committee 
about the farm at the ferry. 

[Feb. 25, 1789, the selectmen gave an order to Capt. James 
Stowers for " 24/ for meeting with the Committee about Coll 
Dawes affair," etc. ; also " Gave Deac? Joshua Cheever an order for 
17^ lid fQj. |-^js Hyq^q spent with the Committee about Coll Dawes 
affair."] ^^ 

Thus ended after a contest of one hundred and fifteen years 
this remarkable case. The interest was a large one, and the 
towTi was needy. There Avas hope at the outset and encourage- 
ment as the case proceeded to warrant the contest. But in my 
judgment the town was not well advised, and should have 
abandoned the matter in view of the adverse decision of the 
General Court in 1676, and of the Superior Court in 1708. 
For fifty years innocent parties had possessed the Bellingham 
estates, and nothing less than the clearest legal reasons would 
justify their dispossession. Such reasons could not be found 
and upon the whole it w^as well that they could not; for Gov- 
ernor Bellingham's devise, though beneficently intended, was 

" [L. 102, f. 225.] 

'^ Chelsea Town Records. 

^ Selectmen's Records, i. 131, 133, 134. 



632 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVIIl 

an ecclesiastical endowment which, if good, would be indefi- 
nitely continued, and entail endless disputes as to its adminis- 
tration. The defeat of the town was a victory. 

Historically, however, the case is of great value, not only 
locally, as bringing to light many facts concerning the old 
settlers nowhere else recorded, but should it ever come to the 
attention of the legal profession, it cannot fail to take its place 
among the most remarkable of causes, not only by reason of its 
unparalleled continuance, but as presenting, as no other case 
does, the history of legal proceedings in Massachusetts in 
colony, province, and state for a period of one hundred and 
fifteen years. 



Chap. XVIII] APPENDIX 63^ 



APPENDIX 

[Writ of Execution * 

Suffolk ss: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts to the Sheriff 
of our County of Suffolk or his Deputy Greeting 
Seal Whereas Eobert Thompson of Elsham in the Kingdom 

of Great Britain Esquire Before our Justices of 
Our Supreme Judicial Court holden for or within our County of 
Suffolk aforesaid at Boston upon the last Tuesday of August last 
by the Consideration of our Justices of our said Court, recovered 
Judgment for his title and possession of and in that Tract of 
Land at Winisimitt at Chelsea in the County of Suffolk now 
Occupied by Phillips Payson of said Chelsea Clerk called the little 
Farm ^ . . . against the said Phillips Payson who had Unjustly 
with-held put out or amoved the said Robert Thompson from his 
possession thereof also at the said Court Eecovered Judgment for 
Twelve pounds two shillings & three pence for Costs and Damages 
which he sustained by Eeason of the same as to us hath been made 
to Appear of Record: We Command you therefore that without 
delay you cause the said Robert Thompson to have possession of 
and in the said Two hundred Acres of Upland & Meadow & said 
one Acre & a half. We also command you, that of the Goods 
Chatties or lands of the said Phillips within your precinct, at the 
Value thereof in money you -cause the said Robert to be paid and 
satisfied the aforesaid sum of Twelve pounds two shillings & three 
pence which to the said Robert was adjudged for his Costs and 
Damages with three shillings & two pence more for this Writ & 
duty and thereof also to satisfy yourself for your own fees. And 
for want of such Goods Chatties or Lands of the said Phillips to 
be by him shewn unto you or found within your precinct to the 
Acceptance of the said Robert to satisfy the aforesaid Sums : We 
command you to take the Body of the said Phillips and him 
Commit unto our Goal in Boston in our County of Suffolk afore- 
said and detain in your Custody within our said Goal until he pay 
the full sums above mentioned with your fees or that he be dis- 
charged by the said Eobert or otherwise by order of Law. Hereof 

» Suff. Deeds, L. 153, f. 187. 

" This description recites verbatim the writ of attachment. 



634 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XVIII 

fail not and make Eeturn of this Writ with j-oiir doings therein 
into our said Supreme Judicial Court to be holden at Boston 
within and for our County of Suffolk on the third Tuesday of 
February next Witness William Gushing Esq?, at Boston the 
Twenty first day of September in the year of our Lord 1787 
Char? Gushing Gler. Suffolk ss : 21 September 1787 By Virtue of 
this precept to me directed I have caused the within named Robert 
Thompson to have possession of and in the within described Two 
hundred Acres of Upland and Meadow and the other one Acre and 
a half of land described in said precept haveing first amoved there- 
from the within Phillips Payson and all other persons and said 
Robert by his Attorney the Honorable Thomas Dawes Esquire 
hath Entered into the House on said premises and has possession 
thereof and of said premises and there Privileges and Appurte- 
nances and I have paid said Roberts said Attorney the within Gosts 
and damages out said Phillips Estate and am Satisfied for my own 
fees and so I return this Execution in all parts satisfied — Richard 
Boynton D Sheriff Suffolk ss.21 Sepf 1787 I have received 
of "the above Richard Boynton possession of the above described 
Upland Meadow land and Appurtenances Thomas Dawes Boston 
25 SeptF 1787 Received the within Gosts Thomas Dawes Jun? for 
Pit. 

Received Sept? 27. 1787 And accordingly Entered and Examined 
pi" Nathl Greene Reg^£] 



Chap. XIX] ROBERT KEAYNE'S ESTATE 635 



CHAPTEE XIX 

CAPTAIN EGBERT KEAYNe's ESTATE IN EUMNEY MAESH 

NEXT in interest to the Bellingham estate at Winnisim- 
met was that of Captain Robert Keayne in that part of 
Riminej Marsh now Revere. One of the largest, it included 
some of the best land on the Xew England coast. There were 
two farms, one of eight hundred seven and a half acres, called 
the great farm, and the other, the little farm, of one hundred 
seven and one fourth acres, less one half of the old ['' coun- 
try "] road which ran through or past these farms. They were 
separated by John Cogan's small farm, fifty-six rods in width, 
running westerly from the B. H. Dewing estate to the Maiden 
line. 

Captain Keayne's great farm was northerly of the Mar- 
shall, Matson, and Gallopp allotments,^ easterly of Maiden, 
southerly of the Pines River, and westerly of the westerly line 
of Dewing's estate, for Captain Keayne's estate did not touch 
the Salem Turnpike, now Broadway, which passed through 
Cogan's gTeat farm leaving a part on the westerly side." The 
little farm, allotted to John Sanford, afterwards governor of 

^ [Tliis was according to the original grant to Captain Keayne in 
January 1637/8. Presumably the allotments mentioned in the text be- 
came a part of his great farm. Supra, pp. 126, 127.] 

^ The largest present or late owners are, beginning on Maiden Street 
westerly of Daniel T. Fuller's, the heirs of P. C. Hall, whose estate runs 
northerly to the Pines River. On this estate was the Colonel Paige, or 
Oliver, mansion said to have been built in 1715 and lately torn down. 
Westerly is the late Z. Hall farm, now of the Derby heirs, this with their 
other land reaching the Pines River. Then in order those formerlj^ of 
Abner Pierce and William Hall, which with part of the Copeland farm 
(the heirs still owning part) now belongs to John P. Squires, whose house 
stands near the site of Captain Keayne's house, taken down some years 
since. The westerly part, nortlierly of. the road, belongs to the Blodget 
heirs and those of the late William Hall. Tliat part of the great farm 
lying south of Maiden Street is now owned by S. A. Hall and J. P. Squires. 
This account of ownership was written many years ago, and I hardly nee<i 
say that since then many changes have been caused by death. [See Hop- 
kins' Atlas of Sutf. Co. (1874), iv. Plate P.] 



636 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIX 

Rhode Island, contained " a hundred acrs : bounded on the 
South with M''. Xewgate ; on the West with Charlesto\\aie ; on 
the North with Thomas Marshall ; and on the East with the 
highway." Keayne probably purchased it of Sanford by deed 
not recorded."^ February 10, 1702/3, Colonel Nicholas Paige, 
whose title will be shown later, sold it to Governor Joseph 
Dudley, uncle to Anna Keayne Paige, granddaughter of Cap- 
tain Keayne.'* The Dudley house is still standing (1881). In 
1703 it was occupied by John Chamberlain.^ The easterly 
part of the estate is owned by the heirs of Benjamin Shurtleff; 
and the westerly by those of Oliver Pratt. 

Between Captain Keayne's great and little farms was John 
Cogan's small farm of 1665, referred to above, which his 
grandchildren sold to Hugh Floyd between 1700 and 1709. 
The Cogan, or Floyd house, is supposed to be still standing 
easterly of the old " country road," near the Maiden line.^ 

' [Supra, p. 127.] 

* Suff. Deeds, L. 21, f. 410. [This was a deed of gift from Nicholas 
Paige and his wife to Governor Joseph Dudley in trust for the use of 
themselves for life, and to the use of Governor Dudley's son Paul after 
their death. For the history of this farm see infra, pp. 604, 007 ; vol. ii. 82.] 

° John Chamberlain, though not satisfactorily proved to have been a 
relative of his contemporary, Jacob Chamberlain of Rumney Marsh, my 
first known ancestor of the name, was a man of local prominence, and his 
genealogy is given, infra, p. 651. [The house is no longer standing ( 1900).] 

° At present 1 am unable to solve a dilHculty respecting the Oliver 
Pratt house. It is this: His estate is on the westerly part of Captain 
Keayne's small farm, the easterly part of which belongs to the Shurtleff 
family. But Pratt's house seems to be the Cogan, or Hugh Floyd house, 
on Cogan's small farm, and is so placed on a plan of these farms by the 
late B. H. Dewing, well informed as to such matters. It is not improbable, 
though 1 have no evidence of it, that by purchase the Cogan, or Hugh 
Floyd house, on Cogan's little farm, became a part of Keayne's small farm, 
and so ultimately the Oliver Pratt house, which with many changes is 
still standing. 

June 30, 1890, I called at the Oliver Pratt house, \\iliere I found Sarah 
D. Lewis (born at New Boston, N. H., October 11, 1813), second wife and 
widow of Oliver Pratt. She said that Oliver Pratt was born April 20, 1792, 
and died December 17, 1870. His mother, a Wilcutt of Framingham, died 
June 28, 1837. [Supra, p. 147.] Oliver Pratt, a cousin of the late Caleb 
Pratt, was born in the old house, which lately stood on the Cook estate 
near the junction of Washington Avenue and the avenue which leads to 
Woodlawn Cemetery, and is said to have been built of barracks occupied 
by the Continental troops in the winter of 1775-1776, which were re- 
moved from a site near Washington Park near the old poor house estate. 

The Oliver Pratt estate was once owned by Captain Samuel Sargent, an 
officer in the Revolution, and a trusted citizen of Chelsea. His son Benja- 



Chap. XIX] ROBERT KEA-^NE'S ESTATE . 637 

I now return to Captain Keayne and the fortunes of his 
family. He came over in 1635, and died in Boston, March 23, 
1656, aged sixty-one. As merchant-tailor he had acquired 
property, and as early as 1624 aided the plantation at Ply- 
mouth. He had been of the Honourable Artillery Company 
in London, and in 1638 was most active in getting up that in 
Boston, which still survives, and of which he was the first 
captain. Between 1638 and 1649 he was often a Represen- 
tative to the General Court, and several times its Speaker.'^ 
On the southern corner of Washington and State streets were 
his Boston house and garden ; but like Winthrop and some 
others he had his country farm, of which I am giving some 
account. His wull,^ of over one hundred and fifty pages, dated 
in 1653, is upon the whole creditable to him. Some of its 
provisions are these : 

Seeing that it had pleased God to use him " as a poore in- 
strument to lay y® foundation of that I^oble Society of the 
Artillery Company," he desired to declare his affection to 
them, and to be buried as a soldier in a military way. 

And because he was not ignorant that there had been many 
clamors and evil reports raised up against him here and else- 
where, as if he had got his estate " by unjust dealing and 

min's daughter was the first wife of Oliver Pratt. [Oliver Pratt married 
Lois Sargent, January 6, 1814.] Emma Louise Pratt, daughter of Wil- 
liam J., and granddaughter of Oliver, Pratt kindly took down from the 
lips of her grandmother the substance of this note. 

[In 1750 Samuel Sargent purchased the \vesterly sixty acres of the 
little Cogan or Hugh Floyd farm with buildings thereon. Tliirty-two 
years later he purchased the westerly thirty-two acres of the Dudley farm, 
without buildings. These lands were inherited by Oliver Pratt. {Supra, 
p. 184.) March 12, 1770, the town of Chelsea voted "to Dismiss that 
Article in the Warrant Respecting Mr Samuel Sargeants Loss that he 
Sustained by fire."] 

' [October 7, 1640, he served as Speaker pro tern, of the House of 
Delegates; so far as is knoA\Ti this was his only service in that capacity. 
See Mass. Col. Rec, iii. 78; Savage, Winthrop, ii. 53; Hist, of Ancient 
and Hon. Artillery Co. His Avife Anne was a daughter of Sir John ]\Ians- 
field, and a sister of the wife of John Wilson, first pastor of tlie First 
Church in Boston. (N. E. Hist, and Gen. Reg., vi. ISfi.) In his will 
Captain Keayne called Edward Rawson cousin, and in 1684 Rawson 
testified that he knew the family when they lived in Birching Lane, London. 
See Stow, Survey of London (ed. 1842), p. 75.] 

* SufF. Prob. Rec, L. 1, ff. 110-274; printed in Boston Rcc. Com. Rep., 
X. 1-54. 



638 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIX 

wronging of others," ^ he had in his former wills set apart two 
hundred pounds for any man or woman, in Old England or 
New, who could make it justly appear that he had wronged 
them, that they might have full satisfaction allowed them; 
but having lived seventeen or eighteen years in New England, 
and none such having appeared, he dropped that clause from 
his present will. 

He thought " of the want of some necessary things " for the 
to^vn of Boston, " as a Market place & Cundit, the one a 
good helpe in danger of fyre," the want of which had been 
found by sad experience, "' the other usefull for the country 
people that come with theire provisions for the supply of the 
towne," that they might " have a place to sitt dry in and 
warme both in cold raine & durty weather," and " a place to 
leave theire corne or any other things safe " that they could , 
not sell, till they came again, also " some convenient roome 
or too for the Courts to meete in both in Winter & Sumer, 
& so for the Townes men & Commissioners," ^'^ also " in 
the same building or the like ... a convenient roome for 
a Library & a gallery or some other handsome roome for the 
Elders to meete in," also a room for an Armory, a room for 
" Devines & Schollers," and another for merchants and masters 
of ships. He mentioned free schools and the college, and 
made bequests for both. 

To Robert Keayne is due the credit of first suggesting and 
giving some portion of his estate for a market, water supply, 
town house, public library, and the like, which in after years 
added to the safety, health, intelligence, and reputation of the 

• See Capt. Keayne's Sow, Transactions of Col. Soc. of Mass., i. 392. 
[Also Savage, Winthrop, i. 314-317; ii. 69-72; A. B. Ellis, Hist, of the 
First Church in Boston; Records of Court of Assistants, ii. 124.] 

^^ " For the necessary, full & suiteable repaire of the Toune or Court 
House in Boston, founded by the late Capt Robert Keayne, it is ordered 
by this Court, that the selectmen of Boston shall & hereby are desired & 
inipowred as a cofnittee to see to & order the same wth all convenient 
speede, the chardge whereof is to be borne & defrajed the one clere halfe 
by the Tresurer of the country, one fowerth part thereof by the Tresurer 
of ye county of Suffolke, & the other fourth part by the Tresurer of the 
toune of Boston." Mass. Col. Rec, iv. pt. ii. 351. This was in October, 
1667. The site of the building was the same as that of the Old State 
House. See Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc, iii. 337 ; also Old State House Memorial 
(18S2), p. 26 et seq., for interesting facts as to Captain Robert Keayne 
and his will, by William H. Whitmore. [Sewall, Diary, i. 160.] 



Chap. XIX] ROBERT KEAYNE'S ESTATE 639 

city. He not only devised his estate to lay the foundation of 
a library, but lie also gave " my 3 great writing bookes w^*^ 
are intended as an Exposition or Interpretation of the whole 
Bible, as also a 4*^ great writing booke in which is an exposi- 
tion on the Prophecy of Daniel of the Revelations & the 
Prophecy of Hosea not long since began," 

If the towTi did not undertake the works mentioned in his 
will, then the sums set apart for them were to go to the college, 
and in respect to this contingent bequest his views were sen- 
sible and as in other ways in advance of his age, for his 
desire was that his gift should not be improved about buildings 
or repairs, but for the " helpe of such poore & hopefull scholF^ 
whose parents are not comfortably able to maintaine them 
there for theire dyett & learning." If the town did not build 
a handsome room for a library, his books were to go to Harvard 
College. 

It is obvious from his will that Captain Keayne was much 
at his farmhouse at Rumney Marsh, for there he kept books in 
which were entered accounts of his stock, the cows killed for 
his own use, such as died by casualties, and others that were 
destroyed by the wolves. These and other matters are more 
fully set forth in the following extracts : 

" At my ffarme ... is a pticul^ acco" of all my Cattle & other 
tilings & what increase comes of them from yeare to yeare, what 
of them I sell away or kill for my owne use, as also what of them 
dyes by casualty or are lost by the wolves, & how many remaines 
of all sorts ev'y yeare with there ages prizes & worth taken ev'y. 
spring or beginning of the New yeare by w*^*^ you will see what 
liveing Cattle I have, of oxen, Cowes, Calves, horses, swine & in 
wliose hands they are to require them, these with the Inventory 
booke of my estate before mentioned will be a good direction & 
great help to you when you come to take an Inventory of my estate 
& to value the pticuP'^ thereof in w^^ also I doe use to sett downe 
the value of the Cattle at lesse then they &re worth & then they 
would yeald if I were to sell them or to putt them off one by one, 
there is also the pticul''s of my ffarme & the value of it. 

" There is also at my ffarme a long paper booke bound in parch- 
ment, such a one as my Inventory booke in my closet at Boston 
w^^i I mentioned before, wc^^ booke I comonly keepe in that 
roome at my ffarme w^^^ I keepe locked up for my owne use, in 
v.-^^'^ is the pticuH'^ of the charges & profitts that I make of my 



640 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIX 

ffarme ev'y yeare with an acco" of the Come & Apples & Butter 
& Cheese that is made & where they are with some debts therein 
due to me & some other acco"^ to be Kept & pused. 

" There is at my ffarme also many printed books both great & 
smale, Divinitie, Hystory, Millitary bookes & that I made use of 
there & some written Sermon bookes both in my Closet & Chamber 
there. There is also some Plate as a Silver Porringer, a Sackc 
Bowie, a silver hot water cup, 3 silver spoones y' were kept for 
our owne use there, in a little boxe in my closet, there is also in 
my standidge at the ffarme w^^ hath a locke & a key to it, some 
silver & peage in one of the private or secreet boxes of the same 
& this I keepe in my closet there & these things are besides all the 
bedding sheets linnen houshould stuffe dary vessells carts &c." 

Captain Keayne's son Benjamin, born in London, came 
over with his father in 1635. He married before June 9, 1639, 
Sarah, daughter of Governor Thomas Dudley, and had a 
daughter named Anna. Major Keayne lived some time at 
L}Tin, but went to England with his wife about 1645, I^ot- 
withstanding her high lineage and connection her career was 
scandalous. He repudiated her; he died in 1668,^^ and she 
in 1659. Their daughter Anna Avas provided for in the will 
of her grandfather, Captain Robert Keayne, who said, " my 
desire & request is to all my overseers that in case my son 
Ben j amine should dye before his daughter Hannah Keayne 
should be of age to enjoye hir OA\Tie estate that they would be 
assistant to my wife hir Grandmother, in there best counsel! 

" [August 5, IGOS, Nicholas Paige presented to the County Court " an 
Inventory of nir Benjamin Keayne's Estate heere in New England." From 
this it has been assumed by Savage and others that he died in 1668. Yet 
in January, 1683/4, in the petition of Captain Nicholas Paige and Anna 
his wife (daughter of Benjamin KeajTie) to be appointed executors of 
Captain Robert Keayne's estate, it is stated that Benjamin Keayne 
" deceased before the sd Testator," that is, before March 23, 1656. When 
the executorship of Captain Robert Keayne's estate was transferred by 
his widow to Edward Lane in 1057, mention was made of " ye late Major 
Benjamin Keayne." In the petition of Edward Lane, in 1659, to be 
relieved of the executorship of Captain Robert Keayne's estate he esti- 
mated the legacies he was to pay to Anna Keayne and others according 
to a proviso in the will, which came in force if Captain Keayne's son 
died before him. Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 5, f. 131; Savage, Winthrop, i. 315; 
N. E. Hist, and Gen. Reg., xxxi. 105; Suff. Deeds, L. 4, f. 167; Chamber- 
lain MSS., iii. 179; Mass. Archives, B. 15. p. 212. Benjamin Keayne's will 
was dated in London, October 16,'*1654; it gave his estate to his daughter, 
Anna Keayne. (Dean Dudley, Hist, of the Dudley Family, 73.) ] 



Chap. XIX] ROBERT KEAYNE'S ESTATE 641 

& advice to dispose of kir for hir future education & learning, 
unto some such wise & godly M'"® or family where she may 
have hir carnall disposition most of all subdued & reformed by 
strict discipline & also that they would shew the like care & 
assistance in seasonable time to provide some fitt & godly match 
proportionable to hir estate & condition that she may live com- 
fortably & be fitt to doe good in hir place & not to suffer hir 
to be circumvented or to cast away hirselfe for want of counscll 
& watchfullnes upon some swagering gentleman or others that 
will looke more after the enjoying of what she hath, then live- 
ing in the feare of God & true love to hir." ^^ The result did 
not correspond with the pains taken. Her first husband, 
Edward Lane,^^ was succeeded by Nicholas Paige, who died 
in 1717. 

Such were the persons whose conduct gave rise to animad- 
version, and whose interest in the Keayne farm was the subject 
of protracted controversy. In Captain Keayne himself we 
find the elements of a mixed character. He was sagacious, 
farsighted, and public-spirited above the average of his con- 
temporaries, hut unless unjustly suspected, as he always 
claimed, his love of gain led to extortionate dealing with his 

" Boston Rec. Com. Rep., x. 21. 

" Edward Lane, a merchant, came in the Speedwell from London, IfiSG, 
aged 36. He bought the estate of Robert Harding in 1657. [The estate 
was convej'ed to him in 1651. On the same date, describing himself as of 
the city of London, merchant, he gave a power of attorney to his loving 
friend William Brenton to sell it. Siiff. Deeds, L. 1, ff. 319, 321.] Dec. 11, 
1657, he married Anna, daughter of Benjamin Keayne; and had Anna, 
born October 5, 1660, who died June 27 following; and Edward, born 
February 20, 1661/2. [Edward, only son of Nicholas and Anna Paige, died 
in Leyden, Holland, November 1, 1680. N. E. Hist, and Gen. Reg., xxiii. 
267-269. In 1665, Anna Keayne Paige acknowledged that her children, 
though recorded in Boston as of Edward Lane, were not his children. 
Suff. Early Court Files, No. 2233.] The next year he sold his estate at 
Maiden to Richard Dexter, and died not long after. [He secured this farm 
by execution against Samuel Eldred for the delinquent rent of the Keayne 
farm. In December, 1663, after he had privately separated from his wife, 
and deeded her Captain Keayne's mansion house in Boston, he transferred 
the title to the rest of his estate, including a mortgage on the land in 
Maiden, and the estate of Captain Keayne in Boston and Rumney Marsh, 
to Elder John Wiswall and Richard Cooke. His estate before his marriage 
in 1657 was variously estimated by Captain Keayne's widow and Richard 
Cooke at fro?n £500 to £1800. He died January "l2, 1664/5. (Deposition 
of James Oliver, SuflF. Early Court Files, No. 2233, vol. x.xvii. p. 69.) ] His 
widow married Nicholas Paige. 
VOL. I. — 41 



042 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIX 

customers ; and once at least he was before the General Court 
to answer, and unsuccessfully, that charge. But upon the 
whole he maintained a high place among the colonists. 

His son was most unfortunate in his marriage with Governor 
Dudley's daughter, who led him a miserable life until at 
last he was obliged to repudiate her. Nor did her daughter, 
as Mrs. Anna Paige, escape the animadversion of the Great 
and General Court on account of certain passages in her life. 
But the Keayne farm, apart from the personal interest of its 
owners, has a history which entered into the politics of the 
times, and especially the revocation of the first charter. This 
I now relate. When Captain Robert Keayne's granddaughter 
became marriageable she found a suitor, not ineligible, it is 
presumed, in Edward Lane, a young Englishman who had 
been in the country only a few years. Before the marriage 
Edward Rawson, William Brenton, Edward Hutchinson, and 
James Johnson, friends of the parties, November 24, 1657, 
drew up a paper proposing the terms on which the said Edward 
Lane " might take upon him ye place of Executor to ye last 
will & testament of Rob* Keayne ye grandfather to secure to 
himsclfe what possibly may be such part of his intended wives 
portion, as in case she should dye before she attaine ye age 
of eighteen yeares by ye s** will is otherwise disposed of & 
likewise reape ye advantage yt may be had in such over plus 
of houses & lands as may be made over & above what they are 
vallued at in ye Inventory yt ye s'^ Anna ye grandmother 
might be freed from such trouble as inavoidably would fall 
upon her should she continue Executrix &• receive such meet 
reco'mpence for ye benefit of Executrixship as is just & 
equal" 14 

Four days later, 28th November, 1657, in pursuance of the 
foregoing recommendation of friends. Madam Anna Keayne 
and Edward Lane entered into an agreement, [which has been 
printed in Suffolk Deeds, L. 3, f. 77].^= 

" Chamberlain MSS., iii. 179. 

" [The discovery of new material among the Suffolk and ^Middlesex 
Court Files, in the Massachusetts Archives, and elsewhere, necessitates a 
reconsideration of this case, and a new method of treatment. The docu- 
ments are exceedingly voluminous and technical, as well as in some cases 
scandalous. Judge Chamberlain's text is given as he left it, omitting long 
documents that have appeared elsewhere in print. The place where every 



I 



Chap. XIX] ROBERT KEAYNE'S ESTATE 643 

Edward Lane married Anna Keajme, December 11, 1G57, 
but he did not prosper, and failed to keep his contract,^ ^ for 
within eighteen months after marriage he was before the 
General Court. May 28, 1659, is the following: ^^ 

" The buisnes respecting M*" Edward Lane & M""^ Anna Keajne, 
Sen , being referd to the consideration of a coniittee , to be indif- 
ferently chosen by themselves, w^^ M^"^ Keayne, Sen, not consent- 
ing to , the Court Judged it meete to proceede to nominate the 
sajd comittee, & doe appoint M"* Eichard Russell, M*" Edward Col- 
lins, Capt Eliaser Lusher, Capt Thomas Clarke, & Capt W™ Dauis 
a coihittee to act in the case, according to the Courts order & 
instrucc^ns, w<^^ is as foil : . . . Yow, or the major part of yow, are 
hereby authorized and impowered by this Court to assemble 
y^'selves together at Boston the twentieth day of July next, then 
& there to consider of all such things as shall be necessary for the 
dischardge of the trust comitted to yow by the Court, referring to 
the case aboue mentioned, viz*, to call for Cap* Robert Keaynes will 
& inventory, together w*'^ what writtings, contracts, evidences, &c, 
haue from tjme to tjme binn made betv/eene the partjes afore- 
sajd, as also by warrant, if neede be, to call for both parties, & 
such wittnesses as cann testify in the case, & the sajd wittnesses to 
examine, vpon oath, in any thing w^^ yow shall see necessary 
herein, & to yo'' vttermost power & endeavor's to make a loving & 
amicable agreement, if it may be, to mutual sattisfaction of the 
sajd M"" Lane & M^^ Anna Keajne, thereby to prevent further 
trouble to this Court, or, if otherwise, to prepare the case, so farre 
as yow cann, for a further hearing, & to make a true representa- 
tion of the same to y^ next session of this Court." 

October 16, 1660, Mrs. Anna Keayne, Sr., became the 
third wife of Samuel Cole, by whose name she will here- 
after be knouTi.^^- The Arbitrators doubtless made their 

document may be found is indicated. A resumg of the case is given in an 
appendix to chap, xxi., also the papers in one suit. The suit chosen is of 
especial interest, as it followed immediately upon the revocation of the 
Colony's Charter and the appointment of Joseph Dudlej', as President, was 
dependent upon that event, and was the first instance in which an action 
of ejectione firmae was tried in a Massachusetts court. A complete file of 
papers has been preserved.] 

^° [See the appendix.] 

" Mass. Col. Rec, iv. pt. i. p. 369. [Infra, note 23.] 

^* Savage. But a year earlier she is spoken of as Mrs, Cole in an order 
of the General Court, October 18, 1659. 



644 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIX 

report, thougli I find nothing of it, as it was the basis of the 
following order of October 18, 1G59 : ^^ 

" In the Case now dependinge between m'' Edward Lane and 
M'"'^ Anna Cole Late wife to Cap* Eob* Keane, The deputyes Con- 
ceiue that as the Case rep'^sents it selfe it is not Capeable of a 
p''sent Issue by this Court although the Court should last much 
longer, but doe therefore Judge that a Coihittee be Chosen & 
enipowred by this Court to put a finall Issue thereto, & to that end 
are hereby Authorized to examine the Acc*^ of the sd Lane, what 
hath bin by him receiued & also how much he hath Necessaryly dis- 
bursed or expended in paying Legacyes, building or ropayring the 
houses & how much the Estate hath bin advaunccd by such 
expences, as also what else hath bin layd out in any other way 
refFeringe to the estate, & the same to Allow & approue off so farr 
as they shall se it Just & equall & so farr as the sd Lane shalbe 
Credito^' to the estate to determine & conclude, not only how much 
he shall be allowed, but also in what It shalbe payd, & the same 
to sett out apprise & deliuer vnto him, & this Court doth Judge 
the sd Lane is disingaged off all his bonds & obligations between 
him & the sd M"^ Cole, referring to his executorshipp And that 
he is also discharged of his executo^"ship respectinge the estate of 
the sd Cap* Keane And It is left to the ouerseers of the Will to 
Nominate such others in his Eoome as they shall Judge meet & 
shal be approued off by this Court, to pay Such Legacyes as are 
yet vnpayd, & to take Charge of the estate to se it be disposed 
off accordinge to the will of the Testator, & the Charge of this & 
the former Comittee to be payd out of the estate, the Coin, to be 
Chosen by the whole Court meet together, the deputyes haue past 
this desireinge the Consent of o*" hono'"'^ magis*^ heerto 
4 (9) 1659 William Torrey Cleric. 

The magis*^ Consent no* Edward Eawson Secrety, 
4 (9) 59 Voted by y^ whole Court -» Edw Eawson Secrety." 
" The whole Court mett together, by theire vote, ordered, — 
1. First, that Edward Lane shallbe pajd sixe hundred & fifty 
pounds sterling in marchantable beife, porke, pease, wheate, 
barley, and Indian come, of each proportionable, or otherwajes 
to his sattisfaction. 

^^ [The orders were passed at the October session, but not on the open- 
ing day of the Court. As the draft of the first order, preserved in Mass. 
Archives, vol. B. 15. p. 214, gives the action of both houses, it is substi- 
tuted for the final record printed in Mass. Col. Rec., iv. pt. i. p. .3f)l.] 

-" [As the two houses disagreed, they met in joint session. The next 
order in the text follows the last immediately in the Mass. Col. Rec.; the 
precise date of its passage is unknown.] 



Chap. XIX] ROBERT KEAYNE'S ESTATE 645 

3'/ That Edward Lane shall receive of Sarjant Eldred the two 
yeares rents for the farme & stocke at Eumney Marsh. 

3'.y That he shall haue all the rents of the houses in Boston for 
two yeares, which will be expired the seventh of December next, 
the house M^'^ Cole lines in excepted, and also that good securitje 
be giuen him for the payment of the sixe hundred & fifty pounds 
aboue expressed, and also that Samuel Eldreds securitje he hath 
and is to giue may be for the securitje of his rent for the two 
yeares rent aboue expressed; and it is further ordered, that the 
aboue mentioned sixe hundred and fifty pounds be pajd M^" Lane, 
in such pay as is aboue mentioned, once w^^in sixe monefhs, & 
in case it be not pajd w^^^in y* time, he shallbe allowed vse for 
y^ same to y^ end of other sixe months, & in case it be not pajd 
w*^in twelve months, it shallbe lawfuU for the sajd Edward Lane 
to sell two thirds in the new house, and two thirds in the old 
house & yards, and sattisfy himself the sajd soiTie of sixe hundred 
& fifty pounds as abouesajd, the sajd two thirds of the sajd houses 
& yards being made ouer as his securitje for the payment of the 
same; and it is ordered, that the sajd Edward Lane forthwith 
deliuer vp all the lands & houses, bookes of accompts, bonds, bills, 
& all other writtings, stocke of catle, & what else he hath in his 
possession belonging to the estate of the sajd Capt Keayne, to the 
ouerseers; and it is ordered, that M^^ Cole forthwith bring into 
this Court & deliuer vp all the bonds wherein M"" Lane stood bound 
to the sajd M""^ Cole, formerly Keayne, to be cancelled; so also 
that the secretary bring in the bond of a thousand pounds that 
the sajd Edward Lane stands Ijound to him & Capt Johnson for 
Anna Keaynes, Juu, joincture." -^ 

" The ouerseers of Capt Keaynes will are heereby empowred to 
take the estate into theire hands, & to sell or dispose thereof, for 
speedy payment of the legatjes, according to the will, as they shall 
judge & determine, provided theire determination be approoved 
lay Majo"^ Atherton, W Eussell, M"" Danforth, Majo^ Hauthorne, 
M"^" Stoddard, & Left Cooke, or the majo^ part of them, who are 
appointed by this Court as a coiiiittee to jo'vne w*^ the ouerseers 
in interpretation of the will respecting legacies to his relation [s] ; 
& the conclusion agreed on by the majo"" parte of the ouerseers 
& of the sajd coiiiittee shall be a finall issue of all causes or actions 
that haue or may arise concerning legacjes bequeathed by the sajd 
will." 22 

"^ Mass. Col. Rec, iv. pt. i. .302. 

^ Ihid., 395. [The date in the margin of record is November 12, IfioO. 
Both orders were " Voted by ye whole Court." Mass. Archives, B. 15. 
p. 215.] 



Ci<3 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIX 

Tilings were all going wrong, for the same day it is recorded 
that 

" On the desire of M''^ Anne Keayne, Junio*", the Court doth 
also appoint M'' Symon Bradstreet & Majo"" Gen Dennison to be 
her guardians, & M'" Edward Lane, who was formerly allowed, 
is hereby dischardged, and enjoyned to give an account of his 
acting as guardian during his contjnuance, and to retourne all 
papers & writings belonging vnto the sajd M'"^ Anne Keayne in 
refferenc to hir tfathers will." -^ 

Some mystery is wrapped up in these orders. The marriage 
settlement seems to have been set aside, and the estate thereby 
given to Edward Lane recalled and revested in the overseers 
with power to sell the same for the payment of debts and 
legacies. Lane was discharged of his bonds, declared entitled 
to repajTiient of sums expended for the estate, and on the 
desire of Mrs. Anna Keayne, junior, to whom was given her 
maiden name, he was removed as her guardian, and others 
appointed. The General Court annulled the marriage,^ ^ but 
the parties came together again, and I find no other evidence 
of it than appears in the foregoing entries. In the record 
below, November 12, 1C59, she is called Anna Keayne instead 
of Anna Lane: 

" In consideration of the late Capt Eobert Keaynes libbcrall 
guifts to the country in his will, the whole Court niett together 
voted, that M^^ Anna Cole, the late relict of the sajd Capt Kobert 
Keajne, and Anna Keayne, the grandchild, shall haue fiue hundred 
acres of land a peece lajd out to them & theire heires where it is 
to be found." ^* 

Mrs. Cole's five hundred acres were, October IG, 10 GO, laid 
" in the wildernes, on the westerne side of Merremacke Iliuer, 

'^ Mass. Col. Rec, iv. pt. i. 395. [The date in the margin of record ia 
November 12, 1059. Both orders were " Voted by ye whole Court." Mass. 
Archives, B. 15. p. 215.] 

^ [The marriage was annulled by the Court of Assistants. The case 
came before the General Court by petition from Edward Lane, because after 
the annulling of the marriage the widow of Captain Keayne declined to 
release Lane from the business agreement by which he assumed the 
executorship of her husband's estate.] 

^* Mass. Col. Rec, iv. pt. i. 410, 44.3, 444. 



Chap. XIX] ROBERT KEAYNE'S ESTATE 647 

at Sowlieaganucke " ; and Anna Keayne's ^^ not far away, '' at 
a place called bj the Indians Quoqiiinnapasskessanahnoy." 

[Conveyance from Edward Lane to Thomas Brattle and 
Kobert Gibbs in trust for Anna, "now Eeputed wife to me 
the Said Edward Lane," of the mansion house of Captain 
Keayne in Boston, December 2, 1663, printed in Suffolk Deeds, 
L. 4, f. 167.] 

December 14, 1663,. Edward Lane, failing to meet his en- 
gagements in respect to the payment of legacies, conveyed the 
Keayne estates to Richard Cooke and John Wiswall, by a 
deed,^*^ which gave rise to innumerable law suits lasting for 
forty years. Cooke and Wiswall, the grantees, claimed an 
absolute fee in Captain Keayne's estates, and fought the 
battle on that line. If Captain Keayne's will gave the fee 
of the Eumney Marsh farms to his wiie, she could have con- 
veyed it to Edward Lane, as she seems to have agreed to do in 
the marriage settlement of her granddaughter, 2Sth Xovember, 
1657; but a cursory reading of the will leaves the impression 
that she had only a contingent interest in the estates, in no 
case extending beyond her own life, and that was the view 
taken by Colonel Nicholas Paige, and hence the long war 
upon which we are entering. 

The following entry gives earliest intimation that the con- 
test had begun ; and in this, as in the Bellingham suits, we 
shall be perplexed by loss of records. Apparently ISTicholas and 
Anna Paige had begun a suit for the estates conveyed to Cooke 
and Wiswall in 1663 in trust, as they claimed, by the deed 
above cited.^^ In the controversy between Colonel Paige and 
Cooke and Wiswall, w^hich resulted in the defeat of the latter, 
it is to be remembered that their title, whether good or bad, 
legal or merely equitable, was derived from Edward Lane, and 
tliat his title seems to rest on conditions unperformed.-* May 
23, 1666. " In answer to the peticon of Richard Cooke, the 
Court graunts his request, i.e., liberty to put in his ans^ to jM"" 
Nicholas Paige, & Anna, his wifes, declaration in writing 

^' [According to the record she was " Mrs. Anna Lane." Ihid., 444. For 
the significance of this grant, see the appendix.] 

=« [Omitted because printed in SufT. Deeds, L. 4, f. 191.] 

" Siiff. Deeds, L. 4, f. 191. 

^* See the creditor's statement, infra, p. G49. 



648 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIX 

to this Court." ^^ Edward Lane had died, and Mrs. Anna 
Keayne Lane had married JSI^icholas Paige ; ^'^ but precisely 
Avhat this suit was about I am unable to saj, doubtless respect- 
ing the Keayne estates. 

At the same term of the court and on the same day,"^ is this 
entry : 

" ^Vliereas Anna Page, the wife of Nicholas Page, was indicted 
at the last Court of Assistants for adultery, & by reason of disa- 
greement of bench & jury, the case was brought to this Court for 
further trjall, & vpon full hearing of the case, the Court found 
hir guilty of much wickednes , but vpon a motion from hirself, 
the Court gaue hir oppertunity to make acknowledgment of such 
hir great offences w*^^ were charged vpon hir, which accordingly 
she hath donne to the satisfaction of this Court, who doe hereby 
declare their acceptation of it, so as she make the like acknowl- 
edgm* in open Court when called thereto ; that as the Court hath 
seene the fruits of her repentance, so it may be declared to others 
also. The sajd Anna Page came into the Court, & openly made 
acknowledgment, in like manner, to the Courts acceptance, who 
ordered that JP^ Page pay the charge of the witnesses, & so is 
discharged." ^^ 

The General Court became weary of her affairs, for October 
10, 1666, appears the following: 

" In answer to the peticon of M''^ Anna Page, referring to the 
estate of M"" Eobert Keayne & the disposure thereof, hauing con- 
sidered the actings of this Court thereabouts, but more especially 
a fynall determination therein transacted by a comittee of this 
Courts deputing, of vnbyassed persons joyning w**^ tbe ouerseers, 
this Court judgeth it not suiteable to reuive troubles to the Court 
therein, & wherein M"" Lane, deceased, hath binn injurious to the 
peticoher , his former indulging the same may be a sufficjent 
ground of buriall therein; but in case of any non performance 
of the solem agreement mentioned in any article thereof, an in- 
feriour judicature may be applyed vnto, referring to a legall pros- 
ecution therein." ^^ 

^ Mass. Col. Rec, iv. pt. ii. 302. [Suff. Early Court Files, No. 2233.] 

'° Infra, p. 650. 

*' [Ordinarily the votes of the General Court were recorded as of the 
opening day of the session. Occasionally the date of passage was given in 
the margin of the record, but it was not given in this instance.] 

« Mass. Col. Rec, iv. pt. ii. 309. 

^' Ibid., p. 327. [For the agreement cited here, see vol. ii. p. 59; also 
p. 62.] 



Chap. XIX] ROBERT KEAYNE'S ESTATE 649 

The estate of Captain Robert Keayne was not easily settled, 
and the legatees did not get their money; conseqently the 
overseers or executors made the following petitions : •^'^ 

To the Hon!"*^ Gen". Court now Assembled at Boston. 
The Petition of the Overseers of the 
last Will and Testament of Cap* Robert 
Keyne : 
Humbly Shewes 
Whereas LI!" Edward Lane late of Boston vpon a Contract of Mar- 
riage with M'"? Anna, the Granchild of Cap* Robert Keyne, did Cov- 
enant with Mi"s Anna the Eelict & Executrix of y^ last Will of y® 
Said Cap* Keyne to take into his Possession y^ whole Estate of y® 
said Cap*^ Keyne and to discharge and pay all y® Debts and Legacies 
bequeathed in y^ said Will, as by the Said Covenant may more fully 
appeare, but afterwards , (not haueing performed y® Same) upon 
the Nulling of y^ Said Marriage; he obtained by y^ Judgm* of 
this Hon'"^ Court a Release and Discharge from the Said En- 
gagem*^ and Covenant, yet detayned the Said Estate in his 
Possession, divers Debts and Legacyes being vnpaid, and after 
a Second Coming together of y® Said Edward and Anna, without 
the advice and Consent of the Overseers of Cap* Keyne's Will ; 
the Said Overseers Math y^ advice and Consent of a Committee of 
y® Gen^"^^ Court, did agree that y® Said Lane should Continue 
Seized of the Said Estate to the only end that the Will of the 
Deceased might duely be Executed, and all debts and Legacyes 
paid, for the performance whereof the Said Lane was to giue 
Security to y® Said Overseers as may appeare by y® Articles of 
agreem* more at large; Notwithstanding which the Said Lane 
hath neither giiien Security, nor discharged all y^ debts and 
Legacies according to his Covenant, and y® Expresse Condition 
of his being betrusted with the Said Estate; But on y® Contrary 
hath as wee are informed by a fallacious Deed Conveyed the Said 
Estate to Leif* Cooke and Deacon Wiswall , who now stand Seized 
thereof, and haue refused to deliu"* the Same vnto us, or to giue 
Bond for y® payment of all Debts and Legacies yet due ; whereby 
wee, y® Overseers are vtterly disinabled to discharge the trust 
Coiiiitted to us, by the Will of y® Said Cap* Ke}Tie, and haueing 
Endeavo''*^ other wayes, are necessitated to Craue y® Justice of this 
Hon''? Court to posscsse us of the Said Estate, only Conditionally 
Conveyed to the Said Lane, w*^h Conditions not being performed 
by the Said Lane, the Said Estate of right belongeth vnto our 
dispose, as wee Conceiue by the Will of y« Testator, and by an 

^ Mass. Arghives, vol. B. 15. p. 107. 



650 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIX 

Act of this Court; for the Ends & uses expressed in y^ Said 
Will; Wee therefore humbly Craue the Patience & favour of this 
Hon''^ Court to take y*^ p^misses, and what wee haue further to 
alleadge into yo? Serious Consideration, and to take Such Order 
therein, that y^ true meaning and will of y^ deceased who Soe leb- 
erally bequeathed to Publique vses may be fulfilled; and his 
Relations may not be jniured, w^h is y^ whole trust Coin'itted to 
us y*^ Overseers and y*^ only desire of. 
In answer to this pet. the Dep- lYor Petition*"? 

utyes Conceiue that if their be any Simon Bradstreete. 

articles of agreement broken as Daniel Denison . 

aboue exprest the pet^? are at libertie John Wilson Senior, 

to prosecute the same in any of o? Courts Edw : Rawson 
of Judicature, With reif erence to the James . Johnson 

Concurreence of o? hono'"'^ magis^^ herein 
17th: 3? 1667 William Torrey Cleric. 

These recitals throw light upon the changing relations of 
Edward Lane and Anna Keayne. Several things are notice- 
able in regard to this petition. It was not extended on the 
records of the General Court.^^ It recites a fact unknown to 
genealogists, — that the order of the Court under date Octo- 
ber 18, 1659, above cited, was based upon a " nulling of the 
marriage " between them. The petitioners take the ground that 
the conveyance by Edward Lane to Cooke and Wiswall, in 
1663,^^ being upon condition unperformed, was inoperative, 
and that the estates revested in them by order of Court. The 
reply of the Court, as we have seen, was that if Cooke and 
W^iswall had not kept their agreements, the law was open. 
This brings us to 1667, where the case rested until, in January, 
1683/4, its second stage opened. During this interval, Cooke 
and Wiswall apparently held the Eumney Marsh farms as 
their owti estate. ^^ 

'° [This was the reply of the House of Deputies; there is no evidence 
that the Magistrates took action upon the petition.] 

^ Suff. Deeds, L. 4, f. 191, as above cited. 

^' Among the early tenants of the Keayne farm were Sergeant Samuel 
Eldred, 1G57 to 1G59 {supra, p. 045), and " Benjamin Mussey & others," in 
1663. Keayne's allotment was bounded westerly by Charlestown; but 
apparently he acquired lands within that town (now Everett), occupied 
by "Richard Dexter of Moklen " (Suff. Deeds, L. 4, f. 191), and perhaps 
later o\vned by Nicholas Paige. [See supra, note 1.3. Richard Dexter's 
farm did not pass to Nicholas Paige. For other tenants on the Keayne 
farm, see infra, p, 663.] 



Chap. XIX] APPENDIX 1 651 



APPENDIX 1 

[2'/ie Chamberlain Family of Rumneij Marsh 

John Chamberlaix, tenant on the Dudley farm, died December 
27, 1721, in the sixty-seventh year of his age.^ Presumably he was 
a son of Edmond Chamberlain,- by his wife Mary Turner, whom 
he married at Eoxbury, January 4, 1646/7, as in February, 1656/7, 
Edmond and Mary Chamberlain had a son John aged about three 
years.^ "^ Mary, wife to Edmund Chamberlain of Chelmsford," 
died at the house of Samuel Euggles in Eoxbury, December 7, 
1669,'* and he married June 22, 1670, Hannah (Winter) Burden 
or Birditt,^ widow of Eobert Birditt of Maiden, where he lived on 
the Birditt farm, which adjoined that of Way and Ireland in 
Eumney Marsh. April 1, 1678, Edmond Chamberlain resigned 
this farm to Thomas Birditt, his wife's eldest son,*^ and October 17, 
1678, he described himself as of Eoxbury.' He died at Woodstock, 

^ Gravestone at Revere. 

^ A genealogy of the family of Ednumd Chamberlain, compiled for 
Judge Chamberlain by Harrison Ellery, is preserved in the book entitled 
Chamberlain and Hasey Genealogies (MSS.) in the room containing the 
Chamberlain Collection in the Boston Public Library. In accordance with 
a suggestion of Judge Chamberlain material has been di"awn from it for 
this appendix. 

' 2 Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc, xii. 330. 

* Boston Rec. Com. Rep., vi. 179. According to the record returned to 
the clerk of Middlesex County by Samuel Adams, clerk of Chelmsford, she 
died December 6, 1GG9. 

^ Maiden Vital Records ; also handed to the clerk of Middlesex County 
by the clerk of Chelmsford. 

« Middlesex Court Files, April term, 167-S. In 1672 and 1674 Edmund 
Chamberlain of Maiden rented marshland belonging to the estate of Gov- 
ernor Bellingham. Supra, pp. 427, 451, note. 

' Middlesex Deeds, L. 8, f. 121. He with his wife Hannah by this deed 
conveyed to James Russell of Charlestown a house and 92 or 97 acres of 
land in Chelmsford, the homestead adjoining land of Thomas Chamber- 
lain, Sr. October 22, 1656, Edmond Chamberlain of Chelmsford, planter, 
conveyed to William Baker of Billerica a house and 112 acres of land in 
Billerica that had been conveyed to him September 19, 1656. It was one 
twelfth of a farm of 1600 acres sold by Thomas Dudley to Isaac Learned, 
Thomas Chamberlain, and James Parker of Woburn February 28, 1651/2, 
and was bounded on the northeast by land belonging to William Chamber- 
lain. MiddlesexDeeds, L. l,fr. 197, 208; L. 3, f. 318. June 11, 1650, Mary, 



652 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIX 

then a part of Suffolk County, now of Connecticut, May 8, 1696,^ 
and administration on his estate was granted to his widow Hannah 
July 28.^ Apparently he lived in Woburn, Chelmsford, Maiden, 
Eoxbury, and Woodstock. 

March 22, 16S9/90, John Chamberlain of Maiden was admitted 
a freeman. In 1695 he was granted six acres by Maiden; in 
1701 his name was on the tax list for Eumney Marsh, where he 
was taxed for two polls, one horse, two oxen, six cows, thirty 
slieep, and one hog, and for lands valued at £13 a year. In 1702, 
he held a " farme at twenty pound Rent a year." ^^ Nicholas 
Paige mentioned him as the tenant on the little farm in Feb- 
ruary, 1702/3.^^ Administration on the estate of John Cham- 
berlain of Eumney Marsh, husbandman, was granted to his son 
John, January 16, 1721/2.^- According to the inventory of his 
estate, and his administrator's account, he hired a farm of Paul 
Dudley, Esq., and owned six acres of woodland in Maiden. ^^ His 
estate amounted to £238 : 11 : 2. His wife's name was Hannah. 
He had the following children : 

1. John. 

2. Margaret, married at Maiden ]\Iarch 6, 1711/2, Samuel 
Wilson. 

3. Hannah, bom August 15, 1681;^* presumably was married 
by Rev. Thomas Cheever to John Cole, May 7, 1705. 

4. Edmund. 

5. Mary, born at ]\Ialden, December 5, 1686; ^^ possibly married 
to Daniel Whittemore by Rev. Thomas Cheever, January 22, 
1718/9. 

6. Sarah, born at Maiden, November 25, 1688; presumably 
married to John Stower of Charlestown by Rev. Thomas Cheever, 
December 20, 1720, and died at Maiden, October 2, 1730. 

Deacon John Chamberlain (John (2) Edmund (1?)) of Eum- 
ney Marsh died December 30, 1753, aged seventy-five years." As 

wife of Edmond Chamberlain was received into the church of Chelmsford 
from the church in Woburn. 2 Proe. Mass. Hist. Soc, xii. 325. 

" Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 11, f. 210. 

» Ibid., L. 11, f. 186, 

" Corey, Maiden, 378, Boston Rec. Com. Rep., x. 148, 143. Samuel 
Townsend, who paid £40 rent in 1G72, was taxed for a farm of the rental 
value of £30. 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 21, f. 410. 

" Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 22, f. 356. 

" Ibid., ff. 384, 625. " To Rent paid Paul Dudley Esq. £34." 

" Wyman, p. 197 ; " of Jolin and Hannah, Maiden." 

" Maiden Vital Records; Wyman, 1022, 

^* Gravestone at Revere. 



Chap. XIX] • APPENDIX 1 653 

early as 1715 he was tenant of the Newgate farm; presumably he 
succeeded Thomas Marable in 1710. In 1726 he purchased land 
at Pullen Point, and removed thither in 1734 or earlier.^^ He 
and his wife Hannah joined the church at Eumney Marsh, June 
16, 1717, and his first five children were baptized July 21, 1717. 
He was chosen deacon in June, 1720. May 10, 1705, he was 
married to Hannah, daughter of Lieutenant Joseph Hasey.^^ She 
died October, 26, 1727, in her forty-sixth year.^^ Presumably he 
married (2) Mary Jarvis, June 11, 1728.-° January 25, 1754, his 
widow Mary was appointed to administer on his estate.^^ The 
children of John and Hannah Chamberlain were : 

1. Sarah, born at Maiden March 14, 1705/6 ; 22 married April 
6, 1725, to Joseph Halloway (or Hallowell) by Eev. Thomas 
Cheever. 

2. Abigail, born at Maiden February 24, 1707/8; married May 
12, 1730, Thomas Eustace of Winnisimmet.^^ 

3. Elizabeth, born September 26, 1710;-* died December 12, 
1721.2^ 

4. Hannah, born November 10, 1712; married January 11, 
1740/1, to David Burnap of Hopkinton by Eev. Thomas 
Cheever.^'' 

5. Mary, born March 5, 1714/5; married January 2, 1734/5, 
to John Hasey.^^ 

6. John, born March 9, 1716/7; died April 29, 1717, aged 
seven weeks.^^ 

7. Eachel, died March 30,. 1718, aged fifteen days.2« 

8. Susanna, baptized jSTovember 15, 1719; married Janiuiry 
11, 1742/3, John Sargeant of Maiden. 

9. Lydia, baptized November 19, 1721; died August 18, 
1722.28 

10. Lois, baptized October 13, 1723; died October 4, 1725.=« 
October 9, 1755, the following heirs agreed to the distribution 

" Supra, pp. 188, 1G9, 194. 

" Boston Rec. Com. Rep., xxviii. 8; supra, pp. 233, 234. 
" Gravestone at Revere. 
^ Boston Rec. Com. Rep., xxviii. 142. 
" SufT. Prob. Rec, L. 48, f. 6G1. 
" Maiden Vital Records. 
=° Supra, p. 367. 

■* Boston Rec. Com. Rep., xxiv. 67. 
^'' Gravestone at Revere. 

"" Boston Rec. Com. Rep., xxviii. 339; according to the record in Chelsea, 
January 1, 1741. 
" Supra, p. 243. 
** Gravestone at Revere. 



654 ' HISTOEY OF CHELSEA ' [Chap. XIX 

of the estate of Deacon John Chamherlain: Mary Chamberlain, 
the widow, Sarah Haluel (Hallowell), Abigail Eustes, David 
Burnap in behalf of his wife Hannah, John Sargeant in behalf 
of his wife Susanna, and as guardian to the heirs of Marv (Hasey) 
deceased. On the division of the widow's thirds the followins: 
signed as heirs February 12, 1?83 : Susanna Sargent, Joshua 
eheever for Abigal Eastes (Eustace), Samuel Floyd, Joshua 
Cheever for Hannah Burnett (Burnap).^" 

Edmund Chamberlain (John (2) Edmund (1?)) was married 
June 3, 1703, to Margaret Doutey by liev, Thomas Cheever. July 
16, 1722, John Chamberlain Avas chosen guardian by his nieces 
Hannah, aged about eighteen, and Ruth, aged about fifteen, and 
appointed guardian of Margaret, aged about thirteen, daughters 
of his brother Edmund Chamberlain, late of Eumney Marsh.^° 
Presumably Euth married Matthew Mallet of Charlestown July 
31, 1729, and Margaret, Nathaniel Townsend of Lvnn, December 
0, 1736.3^ 

Samuel Chamberlain was accidentally killed at Eumney Marsh 
in 1706. At an inquest on October 3, in the fifth year of Queen 
Anne's reign, William Ireland, Joseph Hasey, John ffloid, John 
Brentnall, Elisha Tuttle, Jonathan Tuttle, William Hasev, Thomas 
Prat, John Center, Jr., Joseph Lewis, John Lewis, John Tuttle, 
Jr., Abraham Hasey, Nicholas Bayly, and Stephen Larabe " upon 
their Oaths do say, That the said Sam" Chamberlain in Climing 
a tree to get Walnuts fell from the tree upon the ground which 
fall was the Cans of his Death." ^^ 

Jacob Chamberlain died at Eumney Marsh September 15, 
1734, in the forty-fourth year of his age according to the grave- 
stone at Eevere. Mr. Harrison Ellery wrote : " He was a cord- 
wainer and I am inclined to think that Jacob Chamberlain of 
Roxbury was his uncle ^^ and that he may have gone there to live 
with him. I have no positive proof that he was the son of John 
and Hannah Chamberlain of Maiden, but circumstances lead me 
to think he was without doubt his son." Judge Chamberlain dis- 
sented. January 12, 1713/4, Jacob Chamberlain of Eoxbury was 

^ Suff. Trob. Eec, L. 50, f. 637 ; L. 82, flf. 320-322. 

^» Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 22, ff. 608-610. Presumably this was the soldier 
of 1710 from Maiden. Corey, Maiden, G84. Mr. Harrison Ellery assigned 
Edmund, son of Edmund, to Woodstock, where July 19, 1713, 27% acres 
were laid out to an Edmund Chamberlain. Boston Rec. Com. Rep., vi. 60. 

*^ Maiden Vital Records. 

"■ SufT. Early Court Files, No. 6922. 

"^ It is supposed that Jacob of Roxbury was a son of Edmund. He was 
a cordwainer. 



Chap. XIX] APPENDIX 1 655 

married by Rev. Thomas Cheever to Abiel Hase}-.^* They owned 
the covenant at Eoxbury in December, 1714. She was admitted to 
full communion at Eoxbury in February, 1716, he at Rumney 
Marsh February 9, 1723/4. In 1730 he purchased the farm of 
Jonathan Tuttle.^^ In 1733, he was constable and tax collector for 
the district of Rumney Marsh. His widow was appointed admin- 
istratrix of his estate; ^*' she sold the farm, and removed with her 
family to Hopkinton, Mass. Possibly she was the Mrs. Chamber- 
lain who died there in April, 1793, " the oldest person in the town 
above 95." She was baptized October 20, 1695. The children 
of Jacob and Abigail Chamberlain were: 

1. Sarah, born December 10 (?), 1714, in Roxbury; married 
David Burnap of Hopkinton. 

2. Martha, born January 19, 1717/8, in Roxbury; married 
Benjamin Wood at Hopkinton August 4, 1737. 

3. John, admitted to the church in Hopkinton in 1741; 
married Mary Wood March 14, 1744/5; died at Jaffrey, N". H., 
in 1792, aged 72." 

4. Jacob, married Lydia Mellen in 1747; died at Danville, Vt.^^ 

5. Samuel, baptized at Chelsea June 7, 1724; married Martha 
Mellen at Hopkinton March 2, 1748/9 ; removed to Concord, N. H., 
living in a part of the town that then belonged to Loudon; repre- 
sented Loudon and Canterbury in the State Legislature in 1777 
and 1778; removed to Peacham, Vt., in 1797; died in 1802.^8 
Judge Chamberlain was his great-grandson. 

6. Elizabeth, baptized September 18, 1726; married ISTathaniel 
Hasey.^^ 

7. Phebe, born September 4, 1728; baptized September 8; was 
alive in 1735." 

8. Edmund, born October 11, 1730; baptized November 22; 
married Mary Caryl at Hopkinton in 1757; lived later at Rock- 
ingham, Vt. ; died at Lunenberg, Vt., about 1810.^* 

9. Nathaniel, born October 27, 1732; baptized November 5; 
living in 1735. 

10. Abiel (a son), born October 7, 1734; lived in Loudon and 
Canterbury, N. H. ; died at Peacham, Vt.] 

" Supra, p. 242. She wrote her name Abiliail. 

^° Supra, p. 223. 

'« SulT. Prob. Rcc, L. 32, f. 28. The inventory and the account of the 
administratrix are in L. 32, ff. 2G, 28, 521. 

" Family Bible; Hopkinton records as copied by Judge Chamberlain. 

^ MSS. Account of the Chamberlain family by William Chamberlain, 
1820. 

^^ Supra, p. 243. 

*° Suff. Prob. Rec., L. 32, f. 28. 



656 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIX 



APPENDIX 3 

Colonel Nicholas Paige 

Col. Nicholas Paige, found in Boston 1665, came from Ply- 
mouth, Devonshire, a merchant; married Ann, daughter of Ben- 
jamin Keayne, and granddaughter of Captain Eobert Keayne, 
whose large landed estate in Kevere became her property. [He 
was in Boston as early as 1660, but in England with Anna Keayne 
Lane in 1665.] Pier history is given in the text. 

[He engaged in foreign trade, and apparently was not over 
scrupulous in his observance of the laws. In 1674, with Richard 
Wharton and others, he was censured by the General Court for 
participation in a privateering venture, which had been without 
the authority, if not directly contrary to the orders of the magis- 
trates in Boston.^ In June, 1680, Edward Eandolph reported in 
Boston harbor " a Pink of 60 tun riding at an Anchor, loadcn 
with Logwood belonging to one Nicholas Page of this Towne, 
he gave noe bond pretending he was bound for New found 
land, and soe got a passe from the Gov'', it was ordered that if 
I went aboard that Pink I should be knock'd at head, and I 
beleive it, for I have been threatned by Paige." ^ The Governor, 
Simon Bradstreet, was his wife's uncle. Nine j^ears later, on 
June 5, 1689, Eandolph reported that the ketch Salisbury, of 
which Paige was the owner, " loaden with Tobacco arrived at 
Boston from Maryland without a Certificate " and " with her Load- 
ing of Tobacco, Saild from Boston to Glascow directly without En- 
tring into Bond." ^ He was a man of energy, and there are many 
references to his commercial ventures, and the difficulties arising 
from them, in the Massachusetts Archives and the records of the 
Suffolk courts. As a resident of Boston he was censured some 
three or four times for nuisances or encroachments on the street.* 
As a man of property the burden of the constable's office was laid 
upon him in March, 1673/'4. He held no other office by gift 

' Supra, p. 441. 

^ Prince Society Publ., Randolph Papers, iii. 71, 72. 

^ Ibid., V. 39. 

* Boston Rec. Com. Rep., vii. 100, 194, 221; xi. 7. 



Chap. XIX] APPENDIX 2 657 

of the town. Joseph Dudley, Simon Bradstreet, and Major Gen. 
Denison were uncles by blood or by marriage of his wife, and 
notwithstanding the blot on his youth because of his immoral 
relations with Mrs. Anna Keayne Lane, Sewall's diary shows that 
he shared the social life of the town.] 

June 27, 1675, Nicholas Paige was appointed Captain of Dra- 
goons to accompany Major Thomas Savage in the expedition to 
Mt. Hope, in King Philip's AVar. He went to jSTarragansett, re- 
turned to Boston with Major Savage, and disbanded his men. 
There is no account of his further service in this war.^ [Shortly 
after the initiation of the Dudley and Andros regimes he is men- 
tioned as Lieutenant Colonel, instead of Captain Paige.] He 
afterwards became Colonel of the Suffolk regiment; in 1693, a 
member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, and 
in 1695, its Commander. He was active in the deposition of Gov- 
ernor Andros in 1689. [Under date of May 15, 1686, Sewall 
MTote in his diary, " Gov"" Hinkley, Major Richards, Mr. Eussell 
and Self sent to by Major Dudley to come to Capt. Paige's, where 
we saw the Exemplification of the Judgment against the Charter 
with the Broad Seal affixed." ^ How Captain Paige and his wife 
profited by this change of government to obtain possession of the 
farm at Eumney ]\Iarsh is shown elsewhere. A month later, June 
19, 1686, President Dudley and the Council sent to the govern- 
ment in England the names of eight men whom they deemed fit 
appointees for the Governor's Council in place of the four who 
had declined to serve. The name of Nicholas Paige was the 
fourth on the list. He was not appointed. March 26, 1684, 
Edward Randolph, overlooking for the moment apparently the 
commercial irregularities which he had reported in 1680, sug- 
gested Nicholas Paige among others to the Archbishop of Can- 
terbury as a fit appointee on a commission to inspect the accounts 
and proceedings of the Governor and Company for Evangelizing 
the Indians in New England, and the Corporation of Harvard 
College; he did not suggest Paige for the Council in his letter 
of September 2, 1685.] ' In July, 1689, Lt. Col. Nicholas Paige 
contributed £20 " towards erecting a Church for God's worship 
in Boston, according to the Constitution of the Church of England 
as by law Established."* [This list, dated July, 1689, is en- 
titled : " K memorandum of sure, honest, and well-disposed per- 
sons that Contributed their assistance for and towards erecting," 

° Bodge, Soldiers in King Philip's War, 85. 

• Sewall's Diary, i. 137. 

^ Prince Soc. Publ., Randolph Papers, iii. 288-290; iv. 85, 86, 44. 

* Foote, Annals of King's Chapel, i. 89. 
VOL. I. — 42 



658 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIX 

etc. The contributions were made earlier. The name of Lt. Col. 
Nicholas Paige is the second on the list, he and Benjamin Bulli- 
vant being the heaviest contributors. Only six men subscribed 
ten pounds or over. His name does not appear elsewhere in the 
history of King's Chapel ; it was not in the list " of the con- 
tributors towards pews," dated in May, 1694. 

One witness of the events of April 18, 1689, mentions Paige 
as present with his troops at the Town House with Shrimpton 
and Winthrop.'' He was not placed on the Council of Safety, and 
there is no .other evidence that he took part in the Eevolution of 
1689. When after thirteen weeks' imprisonment Joseph Dudley 
was permitted because of illness to return to his home in Eox- 
bury, Nicholas Paige M^as one of three bondsmen for ten thousand 
pounds. Saturday, July 13, the mob seized Dudley in Roxbury 
and carried him back to the prison in Boston; but the keeper 
refused to receive him. He was left with Mr. Paige, who lived 
opposite the Town House. On Monday night the people broke 
into Paige's house, smashing his windows, in search for Dudle}'', 
who was forced to return to prison for safety.^" Nicholas Paige 
signed the " Humble Address of divers of the Gentry, Merchants 
and others," which was printed by their opponents in 1691 under 
the title of an address " To which King you please," with the 
assertion that " these Addressers are of the very Tools of Tyranny, 
who have been Aiding and Assisting in overturning all our Gov- 
ernment, Laws and Eeligion, in the late Eeigns." The petition 
criticised the revolutionary government at Boston, asserting that 
the province bad from a military point of view been weakened 
by the change.^^ 

November 4, 1690, Sewall mentioned dining at Rumney l\Iarsh 
with Colonel Paige, stating that Paige sent his coach to the ferry 
to meet him.^^ Apparently about this time Paige chose Eumney 
Marsh for his chief, if not his only, residence. In 1704 there were 
tenants in the Boston houses.^^ Possibly he managed the farm 
in person after the death of Benjamin Muzzey, December 6, 1690. 
Presumably after the downfall of Dudley and Andros he found 
life in Boston uncongenial.] His residence being nearer the 
Maiden church than that of Boston, he attended worship there 

" 4 Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., v. 194; Hutchinson, Hist, of Mas3.(ed. 17G4), 
i. 373-375. 

" Prince Soc. Publ., Andros Tracts, ii. 1S3. 

" Ibid., 236-239; 240. 

^ Diary, i. 333, in 5 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. 

" Suff. Deeds, L. 31, f. 53; Sewall, Diary, ii. 111. 



Chap. XIX] APPENDIX 2 659 

in Michael Wiggles worth's church. March 14, 1691/2, the town 
voted that " corronall page hath liberty to build a pue," and in 
1701 he presented to the church an elegant pair of silver chalices, 
which have been preserved to our own times. In 1704, he gave 
£6. to enlarge the meeting house.^* [He signed the petition of 
Februar}^, 1708/9, to oppose building one at Eumney Marsh. 
In the year when Colonel Paige was Commander of the Ancient 
and Honorable Artillery Company, Eev. Michael Wigglesworth 
was chosen to preach the annual sermon before the Company.^^ 
So far as is knoAvn he was the first to possess a square pew in 
the Maiden church; in 1695 it stood on the south side of the 
house beside the pupit.^*^ In 1701 ISTicholas Paige was taxed 
at Eumney Marsh for two polls, five negro men, 8 oxen, 14 cows, 
5 horses, 23 swine, 206 sheep, with housing and lands valued at 
£50 a year, the latter being the most valuable listed. Next in 
value were the lands of Samuel Townsend, tenant on one of the 
Bellingham farms (£30), and Thomas Marable, tenant on the 
ISTewgate-Shrimpton farm (£30). John Chamberlain, presum- 
ably the tenant on the little farm, was taxed separately." 

Colonel Paige continued in possession of the farm until his 
death in 1717. Apparently he lived at Eumney Marsh with some 
style and pomp, in a "mansion-house," with a square pew at 
church, a coat of arms on his coach, and negro servants in livery. 
The coat of arms of " Nicholas Paige of Eumney ]\Iarsh, Col. 
of the Second Eegiment of Foot in the County of Suffolk, 1717." 
stands on record in the Gore Eoll of Arms.^^ November 15, 
1708, the following advertisement appeared in the Boston News- 
Letter : — " Ean-away from his Master Col. Nicholas Paige of 
Rumley-Marsh, on Tuesday the 2d of this Instant November, a 
Negro Man-servant, aged about 45 years, call'd Jaclc Bill, of 
middle Stature, a comely Fellow, speaks good English : He has 
on a black llat, black Coat, blew Jacket, a broad cloth pair of 
Breeches with Livery Lace, and a pair of white Stockings."] 

Colonel Nicholas Paige died November 22, 1717, about eighty 
years old, leaving no posterity. His Eumney Marsh estate passed 
by will to Martha Hobbs. [She was his niece and in February, 

" Bi-Centennial Book of Maiden, 194. 

" E. A. Roberts, Hist, of the Company, i. 308, 311. 

" Corey, Maiden, 207-209, 215, 289. 

" Boston Rec. Com. Rep., x. 148, 142. In their will dated April 14, 1703, 
Nicholas and Anna Paige mentioned "this Farmo we now live on at 
Romney Marsh and the Farm William Owin now liveth on which is be- 
sides the Farm John Chamberlin liveth on." Sull. Prob. Rec, L. 20, f. 106. 

" Heraldic Journal, i. 126. 



C60 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIX 

1703/4, was acknowledged as his heiress.^'' She married November 
30, 1709, Nathaniel Oliver (H. C. 1701) of Boston, son of the 
wealthy merchant of the same name. In February, 1711/10, they 
named a son " Page Oliver " for " Col. Pages sake his wives 
Unkle." 20 November 29, 1717, Sewall wrote in his diary: " Col. 
Paige is buried from Capt. Oliver's. Bearers, John Usher esq^, 
\\^ Tailer esq^'; Sewall, Thomas; Col. Byfield, Col. Checkley. 
Scarvs and Kings. Laid in a Tomb in the old Burying place, 
Gov"^ and L* Gov'" had Scarvs and Eings." ^^ His wife, Madam 
Anna Keayne Paige, had been buried there in 1701. By will 
dated in 1703, Nicholas and Anna Paige left £20 apiece to Mar- 
garet and Elizabeth Hobbes, the " two Daughters of our Sister 
Elizabeth Hobbes now living in Crookhorne in England," £20 to 
their sister Margaret Forgeson living in Marteneco, £6 to Eev. 
Michael Wigglesworth of Maiden, £20 to the poor of Boston, £3 to 
each of their negro servants, and legacies to many friends.-^ 

An Inventory of the Estate of Colo Nicholas Paige lately 
Deceased in Rumney Maksh.^^ 

The Furniture in the best Room. 

1 Large Looking Glass 7 — — 

1 Doz : Chairs being old and broken 3 

2 Tables an old Couch and 2 Carpets 4 

1 Clock 8 

1 pr old Doggs & 1 pr brass Andirons 1 

In the Parlour 

2 old fashion broken Tables 1 

4 Chairs 15 

1 looking Glass small 1 

1 Chest Drawers I 

1 pr Stilyards 2 warming pans some old books 1 15 

In the Kitchin 

80 f of Brass at 2/ 8 

14G £ pewter ISd 

3 small Pots 1 10 

Jack and Spit 2 

Trammells, Andirons, Shovells, bellows 2 

Tubs, Pales, Cheese press 1 5 

^o Suff. Deeds, L. 31, f. 53. 
*» Sewall, Letter-Book, ii. 299. 
" Sewall, Diary, iii. 150. 
=" Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 20, f. 1G6. 

^ Ibid., L. 21, f. 119. The inventory was presented to the court October 
11, 1718. 



Chap. XIX] APPENDIX 2 661 

Porch Chamber 

1 Small Bed and Callico Curtains 1 blanket 1 pair pillows, ) 

1 Small looking Glass 2 old Chairs 11 10 



Sadie Chamber 

1 Small Bed bolster, blanket Rug & an old Sadie 5 10 

Parlour Chamber 
1 Bed, Bolster, Blankets old Chairs 10 

The biggest Kitchin Chamber 

Ut supra, only more Avorn 6 

Small Kitchin Chamber 

1 Small Bed 4 

In the Best Chamber 

2 pr Andirons 1-8 

1 Bed and old Furniture 15 

1 Doz : of low Searge Chairs 3-12 

1 looking Glass 5 

1 pF Chest of Drawers & Table & two Stands 8 

In the Garrets 

2 feather Beds for Servants & 2 flock Beds 6 

In the Cellars 

16 Hogsheads, 6 Barrels, 2 Meat tubs & a Keif 2 — 

In the Porch 

7 fire arms at 25/ 8-15 

Stock 

120 Sheep at 48 — 

10 yearlings Steers & Heifers 10 

7 two year olds 14 

8 three year olds 24 

3 four year olds 10-10 

14 Cows 50 

2 large Oxen 12 

20 Load English Hay 50 

10 Swine 12 10 

1 Horse and Mare very old 15 

1 Cart, 2 Tumbrells 1 Stone Cart being worn very much . . 7 — 

4 axes much worn 2 old Scythes 2 old Iron Monies .... 1 4 
1 Iron Crow 1 Timber chain 2 pr Yoks and 2 small Chains & 

pair Shakls and 3 hoes 3 10 

460 oz : Plate at 10/ 230 — 



662 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIX 

5 oz : Gold 30 — — 

1 Sword 2 10 

2 Negros being old ." 20 

fGTG 4 

A true Inventory as far as appears to us with the Apprizemt: to the best 
of onr Judgemts John Brintnall, William Lowder, Thomas Pratt. 

Since the above we have viewed the Coach and harness and find every 
thing old and decay'd and value it at Twenty Pounds John Brintnall, 
Thomas Pratt. In June, 1681 two copies of an account between Nicholas 
Paige and his tailor were filed at the Middlesex County Court in the case 
of Fowle vs. Paige. The items follow: Nicholis Page Dr Vnto Jacob ffowle 
deceased as it is In his booke : ff'ot. 45. 1G77, June 1. To makeing your 
stuff shute «& Coat IGsh; to gallune 6d; to 4 yds bagnall [bangall] at 3d. 
to line yr sons shute 12sh; to making your sons shute & Coate 13sh; to a 
gross buttons for your sons Coate 6sh; to small buttons Ish; to makeing 
yr sons blacke shute & Coat 13sh; to a Collar, looplace & gallune 9d; to 
makeing yr sons great Coate 4sh. Oct: 12. to 6 yds hair Camlett at 7s. Gd. 
£2 5sh; to 4 dozil> gold buttons at 2s 9 sh; to silke and gallune Ish 9d; 
to % yrd gold looplace 6d ; to makeing your hair Coat 6sh ; to makeing 
your sons gown 4sh; to silke and thread Gd; to makeing your broad 
cloath Coat Gsh; to gallune 6d. 1678, August 3d To 4i/o yds woosted far- 
rendine at 2s Gd llsh 3d; to buttons Gd; to 3 yds Callicoe at 18d 4sh Gd; 
to silke to face ye Coat sieves 2sh 9d; to 5yds stuff for a pr breches at 2s 
9d I3sh 9d; to 3yds callico to line them at 18d 4sh 6d; to 3yds ferit rib- 
band at Gd Ish Gd; to pockets Ish Gd; to silk & thread 2sh 6d; to a pc 
ribband 9sh; to making ye [yr sons] Coat & breches 12sh; to staying 8d; 
to silk, thread & gallune 2sh Gd; to faceing ye Coat Gd; to 3% yds boadye 
Serge at 6s £1 2sh Gd; to 41/0 doz buttons at Gd 2sh 3d; to silk & thread 
Ish Gd; to makeing an hair Coat Gsh to IV2 J^ broadcloath at 28s fl 
19sh; to 2yo yds shallune at 3s Gd 8sh 9d to silke to face ye hands 5sh; 
to silke thread & gallune 2sh Gd; to staying Gd; to pc figurd ribband lOsh; 
to makeing ye broadcloath Coat 8sh; to makeing a pr trowsers Is thread 

6 binding 8d Ish 8d. 1678, April 5th to makeing yr fals sleeves Ish; to 
callico to line them & buttons & silke Ish; to faceing a Coat Gd & faceing 
a black Coat Gd Ish. Summ Total — £16 : 3 : 1. 

The testimony of Vs vndr written saith That The rectt of these foresd 
Articles Jn This account Excepting a small peice of ribband was owned by 
mr Nicholis Page Vnto Vs. Pettr ffowle and Jsaeke ffowle and ffurthr said 
mr Page told vs yt he would take Care to satisfy this Debt Attested by vs 
Peter ffowle, Isaack ffowle. 21 : 4mo 81 : sworn in Court Jonath: Rem- 
ington Cleric. 

The depsistion of Nicho Paige Eaged about fforty fouer yeaires. Teste- 
feyeth that sometime befor mr Jacobe ffowles death the said Jacobe ffowle 
told mee that hee had received of mr Nathanell Ellkin the some of tenn 
poundes one ye accot of mee ye said Nicho: Paige. 

mr Page further testefyes that this was a pt of the debt in controversy: 
sworn in Court 24:4:81 J :R:C. 

Verdict for the plaintiff.] 



I 



Chap. XIX] APPENDIX 3 663 



APPENDIX 3 

[The Tenants on the Farm 

When Captain Keayne wrote his will in 1653, he mentioned 
James Pemberton " sometimes my servant & now partner Math 
me at my ffarme." At his death " a Negro maide and a Scott " 
were inventoried with his estate at the farm, and two negroes and 
a " child negro " at Boston. Presumably the Scot v/as " James 
Bitts the Scotchman," to whom he bequeathed 20 sh. by a codicil 
" if he be in my service when I dye." Capt. Keayne made small 
bequests to all, including the negroes. Of the latter he wrote : 
" if they should be still kept or imploj^ed at my ffarme or in the 
service of my son or wife I hope they wilbe as dilligent & careful! 
in there busines & as serviceable to them as they have beene to 
me while I lived." ^ 

A James Pemerton (or Pemberton), supposed to have come in 
the fleet with \Yinthrop, died February 5, 1661/2, in Maiden, 
where he owned a house lot of ten acres and some marshland. 
Two sons are recorded to him: James, baptized September 
14, 1633 ; - and John, who at the time of his father's death 
was a tenant on the Ferry farm of Governor Bellingham, and 
inherited his father's estate in Maiden.^ James may have 
been the tenant of that name on Captain Keayne's farm. Jan- 
uary 29, 1683/1:, James Pemerton, aged fifty-one, and Sarah his 
wife, aged fifty-three, deposed that they were " Tenants for years 
to the s*^ Keayne at the time of his decease," and knew his grand- 
daughter Anna Keaj^ne Paige " from a child." As the deposition 
was taken in Boston, it is probable that Captain Keayne's tenant 
became the well-known brewer of that place, a founder of the 
Old South Church, and father of Eev. Ebenezer Pemberton its 
third pastor. His wife Sarah was a daughter of the wife of 
Thomas Marshall, Sr,* Pemberton left the farm soon after, as 
in 1659 Captain Keayne's widow, then Mrs. Cole, among many 
plaints, said that Mr. Lane " turned out an honest man, and put 
in one that hath made the farme lesse worth by two hundred 

^ Boston Rec. Com. Rep., x. 25, 52. 

^ Wymaii, 735. 

' Sliipra, p. 296, note 7. 

* Suff. Deeds, L. 4, f. 234." 



QQ4: HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIX 

pounds." ^ This was Samuel Eldred, from whom Lane was 
obliged to collect two years' rent by execution on a farm in Maiden. 
When Captain Keayne died there was only one house on the farm 
apparently. The following items in the account ^ of December 7, 
1G57, when the executorship of the estate was transferred from 
Captain Keayne's widow to Edward Lane, show that a new house 
had been built and a well dug, — possibly the house on the little 
farm. 

To Richard Gridley for new house at farme 006 - 19 - 10 

To nayles & other Vtensills & boards for ye same 002- 18- 10 

To Samphoed ye bricklayer for the chimneys 004 - 05 - 00 

To Digging the well Curbe &c 001 - 00 - 00 

To Edw. Hall for worke at farme &c 004 - 04 - 06 

To Goodman Weeden in mony & Corne. Newhowse .... 002 06 00 

To mr Shrimpton for najles 000 - 09 - 00 

To a debt to Benjamin Muzzey for fencing 002-01-00 

To Carting timber bricks for new house 001-07-00 

To Corne to be left at ye farme for seed & for ye family . . 021-14-00 

To Cutting making hay &c 02G - 00 - 00 

To Hogs fatted for ye kmily 6 at 003-10.-00 

To Hogs at ye halves now at ye ffarme left 005 - 00 - 00 

When Lane conveyed the farm to Cooke and Wiswall in 1663, 
it was in the occupation of Benjamin Muzzey and others^ 
Muzzey was then about thirty-three years of age. Presumably he 
was a son of Eobert Muzzey of Ipswich. He married Alice, 
daughter of Richard Dexter of Maiden.* He died December 6, 
1690, possibly in the scourge of smallpox, which visited Eumney 
Marsh that year. Eobert Muzzey and two negro servants in 
the house died also.^ Among his children were: Benjamin, 
the eldest son, born April 16, 1657,^** settled at Cambridge 
Farms, later Lexington; Joseph, born March 1, 1658 (1659?) ; ^" 
Eichard, aged twenty-seven years or " thereabouts " in January, 
1696/7; " " John Muzzey who was taken by y^ Spam'ards " before 
1691 ; Sarah, who married June 12, 1674, John Waite of Maiden; 

° Mass. Archives, vol. B 15, p. 211. 

" Ihid., 209. About 1640 Captain Keayne had Thomas Joy build a barn 
on his farm 72 X 26 feet, with two porches 13 X 12 feet, four pair of great 
doors, four little doors, and two pair of stairs. Tlie barn was ten feet 
high. See Lechford's Note-Book, p. 202, in Transactions Amer. Antiq. Soc, 
vii. 363, for an interesting itemized account. 

' According to his deposition in March, 1665/6, he was then about 35 
years of age. Mass. Archives, vol. B. 15, 101. 

» Middlesex Deeds, L. 6, f. 193. 

• SufT. Prob. Rec, L. 13, f. 446. 

" Maiden Vital Records. 

" SufT. Early Court Files, No. 3614. Paper No. 6. 



Chap. XIX] APPENDIX 3 665 

and two daughters mentioned in the family settlement of 1691 
as " Mary Limn and Elizabeth Darlin deceased." His whole 
estate was then valued at a little over two hundred pounds.^^ He 
saw service in King Philip's War under Captain Prentice in 
1675/6.^^ In 1675 the Katick Indians were placed on Deer 
Island. During the following winter apparently a plot to attack 
them was formed. According to testimony given before Thomas 
Danforth the LjTin and Maiden men planned their place of 
meeting " at Eumney marsh at Gm Muzzeys house." ^* In the 
legal contests of Cooke and Wiswall with Nicholas Paige and his 
wife Cooke was twice obliged to collect money from Muzzey by 
process of law. Muzzey left the farm before Cooke and Wiswall 
lost it in December, 1686 ; but returned as tenant to Colonel Paige 
or possibly earlier. He owned a farmhouse and thirty acres across 
the creek, north of the Keayne farm.^^ In the tax list for 1687, the 
first after the recovery of the farm, Muzzey was taxed as tenant of 
Colonel Paige for 150 acres of arable land and meadow, and for 
350 acres of pasture (the actual acreage of the farm according to 
the survey of 1688 was 807 acres) ; and on his own account for 
four acres of arable land and meadow, eight acres of pasture, two 
four-year old oxen, six head of cattle, two horses, twenty sheep, 
and three swine. The buildings on Captain Keayne's farm, next 
to those of James Bill, Sr., and of John Smith, tenant of the 
Ferry farm where the wharf was included, were the most valuable 
at Eumney Marsh; those on Muzzey's own farm were of average 
value, the same as those of Samuel Townsend and of John Tuttle. 
In April, 1683, Timothy Brooks obtained a verdict against 
Muzzey for £10 for the rent of a farm in Billerica from August 
9, 168'3, to March 31, 1683.^*^ In the disputes which arose 
in the Three County Troop in 1689 over the election of Wil- 
liam Green to succeed Jonathan Wade as captain, Benjamin 
Muzzey, Sr., headed the Eumney Marsh petitioners for Wade, 
the husband of Gov. Thomas Dudley's youngest daughter.^^ 
Muzzey was a consistent adherent of the Dudley family. 

In 1674 Elder John Wiswall, one of the grantees of Edward 
Lane in 1663, conveyed to his son John Wiswall, a man about 
thirty-five years of age, his half of the Keayne farms at Eumney 
Marsh.^^ At the April term of the Sufi:olk County Court in 1678 

" Stiff. Early Court Files, Nos. 2618, 3614. 

" Corey, Hist, of Maiden, 32G. 

" lUd., 47. 

^° Mass. Archives, cxxvii. 297; supra, p. 279; also 

" MSS. Rec. of Suflf. Co. Court, 1680-1092, p. 130. 

" Corey, Maiden, 313-317. 

" Suflf.' Deeds, L. 11, f. 202. 



GQG HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIX 

John Wiswall, Jr., brought suit against Elizabeth Cooke, widow 
of Itichard Cooke, for a division of the farms, but the verdict was 
for the defendant.^^ December 27, 1678, John Wiswall, Jr., con- 
veyed title to one-fourth of the large farm, exclusive of buildings, 
for £250 to John Dowlittle, and in 1G80 he conveyed to Elisha 
Cooke his half share in the small farm.^^ At the December term 
of the Middlesex County Court in 1678, John Floyd, as assignee 
of John Wiswall, Jr., sought to collect £37 lOsh. from Cyprian 
Stevens and Henry AVillard for one year's rent, in 1676, for half 
of a " farme Comonly called Cooke & Wisswclls farme in Eum- 
ney Marsh," and for twelve and one half loads of hay. The writ 
was served upon Cyprian Stevens at Eumney ]\Iarsh. Simon 
"VVillard, aged 29, and Daniel Willard, aged 20, made oath that 
John Wiswell, Jr., had improved his part of the farm " commonly 
called Capt° Keans farm " in 1676, and sold some of the stock. 
In the end John Floyd was nonsuited, as the farm did not lie in 
Middlesex County, and neither of the defendants lived there. '^ 
Presumably Cyprian Stevens and Henry Willard rented Cooke's 
half of the farm in 1676, as the preceding February was the date 
of the Indian massacre at Lancaster, when the settlers withdrew, 
and did not return until 1679. Among these were Cyprian 
Stevens and Major Simon Willard and his sons. Major Willard 
died at Charlestown in April. Henry Willard, son of Major 
Simon, was born at Concord, June 4, 1655, and married Mary 
Lakin of Groton, July 18, 1674. He returned later to Lancaster. 
Simon and Daniel Willard, the witnesses in the case, were sons 
of Major Simon Willard. Cyprian Stevens, born about 1650, 
fourth and youngest son of Col. Thomas Stevens of Devonshire, 
England (later of London), was the son-in-law of Major Simon 
AVillard. Jn a list of the children "born in Lancaster Families 
during Exile after the Massacre" are Simon Stevens, August 13, 
1677, of "Cyprian and jMary, in Boston"; also Elizabeth, in 
1681, and Joseph, in 1682/3. In 1682, Stevens was clerk of the 
writs at Lancaster, where he spent his later life.^^ In 1680 the 
great Keayne farm was described as in the occupation of John 
Wiswall, Jr., Cyprian Stevens, and John Dowlittle; the little 
farm was leased to Thomas Brentnall.-^ 

" MSS. Rec. of Suff. Co. Court, 1670-1681, p. 501. 

="> Suff. Deeds, L. 11, ff. 202, 310; supra, 174-177. 

" Middlesex Court Files, December term, 1G78; Court Records, 252. 

=* H. S. Nourse, Early Records of Lancaster, 101, 108, 111), 272, 318, 321, 
338; Willard Memoir, 358-360. 

=^ Suff. Deeds, L. 11, f. 310. In 1680 the farm was in the occupation of 
" John Wiswall and others." 



Chap. XIX] APPENDIX 3 667 

Apparently Wiswall remained in Eumney Marsh after posses- 
sion was given to iSTicholas Paige in December, 1686, as his name 
appears on the tax lists of 1687 and 1688, A petition was pre- 
sented at the April term of the Middlesex County Court in 1691 
by " John AYiswall, Sen^ 27 : 2 : 39." ^^ He wrote that John 
AViswall, Jr., was arrested at the motion of Eobert Muzzey on 
suspicion of stealing from him, that the petitioner gave bond for 
his son's appearance in court. But " my Said Son," he con- 
tinued, " is departed & gon out of this Collony without yo^' peti- 
tioners knowledg or Consent." He asked to be freed from his 
bond in consideration for the " heartbreaking Sorrow & Impover- 
ishing expences he hath bin at & is now vnder by means of my 
Said Sonns Enormities — And my Endeavoring to Save him from 
publick Shame." '^ John Wiswall's name did not appear in the 
Eumney Marsh list for 1692; in 1691 it was in the list for pre- 
cinct number eight in Boston. According to the Eumney Marsh 
list for 1687 he was taxed for thirty acres of arable land and 
meadow, and one hundred twenty acres of pasture, twenty-two 
head of cattle, eight horses, thirty sheep, six swine, and housing 
of more than the average value. 

The first tenant of the little farm of whom mention has been 
found, was " Thomas Brenton " in 1678.-^ The same name 
appears on the earliest tax list for Eumney Marsh that has been 
discovered, that of 1674.-^ Presumably Thomas Brentnall, men- 
tioned as tenant in 1680, was the same man; the name seems to 
have been variously spelt Brenton, Brentner, Brental, Brentnall, 
and Brintnall in the early records. In 1689 " Thomas Brentnall 
formerly of Eumney Marish now of Wadeing Eiver " was sued for 
eight years' rent of "Wadeing Eiver Farme in Dorchester," the 
rent beginning March 25, 1681.-^ Presumably he was the 
" Thomas Brental " who by his wife Esther had the following chil- 
dren, recorded at Boston: (1) Samuel, born Dec. 2, 1665; prob- 

'* Elder John Wiswall died in 1687. His son was accustomed to append 
the date of his birth, April 27, 1639, to his signature as a means of identi- 
fication; supra, p. 167. John and Hannah Wiswall had a son John bora 
March 21, 1667. Boston Rec. Com. Rep., ix. 106. 

="> JNIiddlesex Court Files, April term 1691; see also Suff. Co. Court Rec, 
1680-1692, p. 376. 

^' Suff. Deeds, L. 11, f. 202. 

" Boston Rec. Com. Rep., i. 59. 

^ MSS. Rec. of Suff. Co. Court, 1680-1692, p. 335. In 1685 Thomas 
Brintnell was sued for the taxes of 1682 by the Constable of Dorchester. 
This seems to have been a test case to ascertain whether tlie farm lay witliin 
the limits of Dorchester or not. Ibid., 257 ; also Suff. Early Court Files, 
No. 2526. 



668 HISTORY OF CHELSEA [Chap. XIX 

ably liWng at Taunton in Wdl.^'> (2) Thomas, b. Xov. 1, 16G9; 
according to Barry ^'^ married Hannah, daughter of Major Simon 
Willard, and lived in Sudbury. (3) Nathaniel, b. July 31, 1671; 
described as " of Boston, mariner," when letters of administration 
were issued June 26, 170 1, to his brother John Brintnali of IJum- 
ney Marsh innholder.^^ (4) John, b. March 3, 1672; married 
Phoebe, daughter of Captain John Smith, and lived at Winni- 
simniet, first as a tenant on the Ferry farm, and later as owner of 
the Elias Maverick estate.^- (5) Joseph, b. March 3, 1673; 

(6) Caleb, b. Feb. 29, 1679/80; described as of Boston, glazier, 
when administration was granted on his estate, July 7, 1707.^^ 

(7) Mehetable, born Nov. 14, 1685; presumably the Mehetable 
Brentnal who was married April 18, 1706, to John Lamson by Rev. 
Thomas Cheever. (8) Mary, mentioned in the settlement of her 
brother Nathaniel's estate in 1701.^* Presumably his successor 
as tenant on the farm was Isaac Lewes, who was named a defend- 
ant in the suits brought by Nicholas Paige in 1686, and was men- 
tioned in 1687 as tenant of the little farm under Nicholas Paige.^' 
March 25, 1690, Lewis purchased a house and land of Jeremiah 
Belcher and Elisha Tuttle. He died in 1691.^® John Chamber- 
lain was tenant of the little farm as early as February, 1702/3, 
and at his death in 1721.^^] 

^ Suff. Co. Court Rec, 1680-1092, p. 399. 

2° Hist, of Framinghani, 194, 195. 

'^ Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 14, f. 355 ; L. 15, ff. 44, 45. 

" Sujira, pp. 46, 320. 

^ Suff. Prob. Rec, L. 16, ff. 296, 338, 339, 416. 

^ Ibid., L. 15, f. 45. 

^° Mass. Archives, cxxvii. 297. 

*° Supra, p. 247. 

^ Supra, p. 651. See also vol. ii. pp. 74-84. 



END OF VOL. I 



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